


Chasing the Dragon

by KyrieVali



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-14 13:44:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 65,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11784387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyrieVali/pseuds/KyrieVali
Summary: Two years after the end of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation has fallen into chaos and disorder. With Ozai's trial on the horizon, Fire Lord Zuko stands at what could be the defining moment of his political career…but first, he needs all the help he can get. Tyzula-centric, with some canon pairings. Plot, mystery, and intrigue sprinkled in for good measure.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> An anon asked me to upload this to AO3. I've been thinking of picking this story up again lately, anyway. So here goes. 
> 
> Enjoy! And please be kind..

Fire Lord Zuko sighed tremendously, resting his face in his hands.

"What's the news now?" he asked half-heartedly, neither moving his head nor hands as he addressed his General.

"More reports of unrest in the Southern Farmlands," General An said nervously. He was a fresh-faced and eager young man, but inexperienced and, to put it gently, ineffectual. Unfortunately for Zuko, he was the best available man for the job. "Over half a dozen riots in the last week alone."

How far his great Nation had fallen.

"File it with the others. I've no time for that now," Zuko said sternly as the nervous man obeyed. Zuko was used to his Generals being made of sterner stuff than An, but all the Generals he knew had been in his Father's Court. As such, every last one of them, both the good and the bad, now sat idly behind the walls of the Imperial Prison, awaiting news of their impending trial dates.

"Any news from the Earth King?"

"Not that I know of…Oh, wait," An corrected himself before making another grievous error, of which there had been far too many for Zuko's liking over the past few months. "A missive from the Royal Court at Ba Sing Se arrived for you."

An produced the folded letter from his vestments and Zuko examined it carefully.

"…When did you say this letter arrived?" Zuko asked as calmly as he could. An began to sweat, noticing the young Fire Lord's eyes (both good and bad) lingering on the postmark date.

"Oh…ah…um…Forgive me please, your Majesty…It's just…I'm not used to doing clerical duties…"

"…It's fine," Zuko managed through gritted teeth. He had gained considerable control over his fiery temper during the past few years, but his General was really pushing him to his limits. If he had retained the self-restraint of his youth, this man would have been on fire by now. "Go get Mai for me, please."

"Of course, my Lord," An said graciously with a bow. He hurriedly made his way towards the entrance hall.

"Oh, and An?"

"Yes?"

"When you're done with that, I'd like you to post a notice asking for new hires…Particularly with administrative duties."

"Yes, sir!"

With that the sweaty man disappeared from Zuko's sight, causing the Fire Lord to sigh once more.

With nearly the entirety of the Royal Court in prison awaiting trial, Zuko had been extremely shorthanded, especially since post-war periods were apparently filled with egregious amounts of paperwork. He didn't remember the last time he slept or ate, though the few servants that remained were careful to take good care of him.

Maybe a little too good, he thought grimly, as he placed his hand over his stomach. Though he didn't want to admit it to himself, Zuko had become slightly…softer than in his youth. He was not large by any means, but he had definitely gained a thin layer of fat over his previously chiseled physique. He hoped it wasn't that noticeable to anyone else, especially since the eyes of the entire world were resting on him.

His eyes now rested on the letter in his hands, which made his stomach tighten with unease.

"You called?" came a drawling, familiar voice. Mai stood before him, leaning casually in the doorway.

"Yeah," Zuko said as he sat up straight and tightened his core muscles in his girlfriend's presence. He handed the wrinkled letter, stamped with the official seal of Earth King Kuei, to the stoic woman standing in front of his desk. "This came a few weeks ago. There was a delay in the delivery."

"An An-related delay?" Mai asked knowingly. Zuko nodded.

"…They're finally moving forward with Father's trial. The date's been set for six months from now."

"I hate bureaucracy. Aren't all the reparations we've made enough for these bottom-feeders?" Mai said with disgust as her sharp eyes scanned the letter's contents quickly.

"No. Earth King Kuei lost face during the Fall of Ba Sing Se…he'll do whatever it takes to get that back…Even if it means dragging my entire family in chains through the mud of his capital," Zuko said bitterly. He had already jumped through countless flaming hoops to protect himself, his retired Uncle, and his unstable sister from being placed on trial. Now, it was his father's turn, and there was little he could do about it, even if he wanted to. "They're out for blood, and they won't stop until they get it."

"They're asking for death?" Mai asked quietly, her normally half-lidded eyes widening slightly as she finished reading the letter. "He's already in prison and his bending was taken away. How much more do they want to do to him?"

"They're not punishing him, they're punishing us. Our whole country," Zuko muttered, grinding his inkstone agitatedly. "And they have every right to. We wiped out the Air Nomads and almost the entire Northern Water Tribe. And who knows how many Earth Kingdom citizens we've displaced, imprisoned, or executed…"

"I know, but how long do we have to keep paying for the sins of our idiot fathers?"

It was a rhetorical question, one Zuko wished he knew the answer to. He let out a low growl purely out of habit, and Mai placed her hand on his gently.

"When's the last time you've had a break? You look…terrible."

"I'll take one in a little bit. First, I need you to send this letter out for me," Zuko said, dipping his brush in the fresh black ink in his inkwell and rolling out a sheet of fresh white paper. His calligraphy had improved greatly over the years, especially with all this practice. Elegant characters filled the paper as his brush danced across it with fast, perfect strokes.

Mai nodded. Zuko wouldn't have asked her to do it if it weren't of utmost importance, and she was feeling pretty bored that day. "To where?"

"Kyoshi Island."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original A/N: Phew. Wrote this a while ago, only had the courage to post it now what with The Search being released soon. A little slow and heavy on the exposition, but I promise it'll pick up in the next couple of chapters. Also, don't hate me because I made Zuko a little less fit than his animated incarnation. He's having difficulty transitioning from his world-weary lifestyle to a sedentary one and his physique was just one way to reflect that. Don't worry, it's going to go somewhere, I promise.


	2. The Kyoshi Warrior

Ty Lee was wet.

Actually, she was positively drenched from head to toe.

"Sorry, Ty Lee…we didn't mean to get you into trouble," one of the little boys said abashedly, handing the much taller girl a towel.

"Hahaha, don't worry! Trouble is the one who always comes looking for me!" the acrobat laughed as she mimicked a platypus bear-like personification of trouble, lifting the children's spirits considerably. "Better hurry home, though. If Suki catches you guys having fun again, I'm going to get into serious trouble!"

"Bye-bye Ty Lee, see you tomorrow!" the children cried as they scattered to the four winds. Ty Lee smiled widely and waved in return, then sighed as she went back to the laborious task of drying herself and her armor.

"I knew I should have taken this off before I went in…" Ty Lee muttered to herself. She hadn't thought to disrobe before climbing on top of the elephant koi because she had done it like, a million times before and never had a problem maintaining her perfect balance. If only Suki hadn't showed up to yell at her in the middle of catching a giant wave, she wouldn't have lost focus and taken an untimely spill in the drink.

"Ty Lee! Are you ready yet? We have to finish loading the cargo ship by mid-afternoon!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming, sheesh!" Ty Lee called back irritably as she pulled another long strand of seaweed out of her pants and trudged off to meet Suki over the hill.

"We're already behind schedule and we have another freighter coming in before sundown. I can't afford to babysit you like this all time," Suki scolded as the two made their way over to the harbor, Ty Lee's footsteps squishing with every step.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Ty Lee responded automatically, for it was a phrase she had found herself repeating quite often over the past few weeks. She wrung the water out from her braid as they walked. "It won't happen again."

"…But it has been happening. A lot," Suki sighed, turning to face her enemy-turned-friend-turned-subordinate. "What's the matter with you lately? You know I hate lecturing you like this, but you've been so off. Always sneaking away to goof off, never paying any attention to what you're doing, showing up late for your shifts, daydreaming when you're supposed to be on duty…"

"Hm? I'm sorry did you say something? I wasn't listening," Ty Lee said as she absent-mindedly picked a pebble out from her undergarments.

Suki sighed and shook her head. "This is exactly what I'm talking about, Ty Lee. Is something going on? You never used to be like this. You used to be one of the best."

The statement stung more than Ty Lee expected it too. Indeed, she did used to be the best…but not here. Never here.

"Nothing's going on," Ty Lee answered. It was half-true, at least, because nothing was ever really going on around their tiny island. Suki looked at the braided girl with a quirked brow, made all the quirkier by the traditional Kyoshi Warrior make-up.

"I know this island probably isn't as glamorous or as exciting as you're used to…and it can get pretty dull after a while, elephant koi rides aside…so how does a vacation sound?" Suki offered with a genuine smile. "Maybe you just need to take a week or two off and relax."

Ty Lee returned Suki's smile, but she wasn't sure relaxation was what she needed. After all, the past two years had been thoroughly more laidback compared to the rest of Ty Lee's life, but the easygoing life had done her no favors.

"That's very nice of you, Suki, but I know you're pretty shorthanded around here as is. And I'm fine! Really!" Ty Lee insisted, hoping her words would convince both herself and her leader.

"I can always switch shifts around. Neru has been getting awfully cocky lately…" Suki muttered, mentally poring over each of the girls' schedules. "We'll be able to manage if you do want to go on vacation."

"Thank you for the offer, but I don't think I've earned it," Ty Lee replied honestly. Suki frowned slightly.

"You know you can tell me if something's wrong, right?"

Ty Lee bit her lip and looked to the ground, avoiding Suki's eye contact. The other girl was right; Ty Lee hadn't been feeling her usual, perky self lately. She hadn't wanted to admit it to anyone, let alone herself, but her aura had been fading for quite some time. It had lost its glorious magenta hue, dropped down past cerise, and was now getting dangerously close to puce.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Nope, not here! See? Happy as a clam!" Ty Lee said with a bright smile, coincidentally pulling a clam out of her brassiere. "…Oh…eugh," Ty Lee frowned, chucking the dying clam unceremoniously back into the water. She turned back to face an unamused Suki, and laughed nervously. Her commanding officer sighed, then laughed.

"Well…if you say so. But just letting you know…I'm worried about you. And if there's anything I can do to help you, let me know, okay? I can't have a depressed Kyoshi Warrior wandering about the island aimlessly and catching shellfish with her clothing."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, really," Ty Lee said with a smile. She couldn't tell whether or not she was being earnest. Suki gave the acrobat one last skeptical glance before nodding and making her way over to the captain of the cargo ship. Ty Lee breathed a sigh of relief before taking the cargo list from the first mate.

Kyoshi Island had always been a favorite stopping point for traders, and only in the last year had it been made an official port by the Earth Kingdom. Now that the Fire Nation's Navy was no longer enacting martial law on the open seas, cargo ships were making a comeback, leading to more and more trade between various cities, nations, and recovering colonies. But the increase in trade came with an additional increase in trade law, and with that, smugglers. With Kyoshi Island mostly rebuilt from the damage it sustained during a particularly brutal attack during the war, the Earth King had sanctioned it as an official customs point for any ship hoping to bring goods to and from the main continent. Its location was attractive enough to serve such a purpose, but the main reason was because of the Kyoshi Warriors, who had earned a great deal of respect from Earth Kingdom citizens for their uncorrupt and loyal services during and after the war.

And so, every day of Ty Lee's life for the past year had been devoted to shipments, shipments, and more shipments. Checking shipments, placing shipments, reporting shipments, drowning in shipments…occasionally there was a break from the monotony when a smuggler was identified, but they were usually cowardly and backed down without much of a fight, to Ty Lee's great dismay.

She sighed inwardly as she boarded another ship, using her great flexibility to worm her way through its innards, probing for potential smuggling compartments.

The war had been over for two years now, and the world had enjoyed two years of so-called peace. That is, if nonstop disputes between nations, some even escalating to the threat of another war, could be considered peaceful. Where others were battling bureaucracy, or wandering the world, or aiding displaced citizens and rebuilding destroyed cities, Ty Lee had stayed here and stagnated. She had already traded a life of glamour, fame, and the spotlight for a life of danger, excitement, and companionship to one of the most perfect and dangerous beings Ty Lee had ever known.

And now she had traded that for a life of shipments, shipments, and more shipments.

Don't get her wrong; Ty Lee was good friends with all the other Kyoshi Warriors and she was very fond of Suki. The brunette had an indomitable spirit and was a natural-born leader. She was stern, but also kind and understanding, where other leaders were cruel and uncaring.

Suki listened, others were listened to. Suki gave out orders, others _commanded_. Suki gave out inspirational speeches, others were just _inspirational._

Suki was a leader, but she wasn't _her_ leader. The _only_ leader in Ty Lee's mind.

Suki just wasn't _her._

Ty Lee frowned. There must be something wrong with her, because how could anyone ever prefer kind, compassionate, Suki to cold, manipulative—

Ty Lee stopped herself. She was thinking about her again. After promising herself for the umpteenth time that she should not, would not, could not spend every waking (and sometimes sleeping) moment of every day for the past two years thinking about a certain blue-blooded Princess, who probably wasn't even thinking about Ty Lee anyway, because why would she, when all Ty Lee had done after all their years of friendship was betray her, but really she was only stopping her from making one of the biggest mistakes of her life, because she just knew deep down that they all really cared about each other, yes even her and Mai, because they had just been through so much together and no one else in the world really understood each other better than the three of them did and stupid Zuko why did he have to be so handsome and traitorous, only he wasn't really a traitor because he was doing the right thing because Ozai was crazy and why did he have to be so crazy because if he weren't so crazy then maybe things would have been different with his own flesh and blood because it's not her fault, really, it's not and—

"AUGGGGH!"

The acrobat cried out as she punched a metal panel of the ship as hard as she could, causing a small, fist-shaped dent.

"Oops," she said to no one as she removed her fist. The panel suddenly popped open, revealing a compartment filled to the brim with counterfeit designer pants.

"Not oops," Ty Lee corrected herself.

"Detain him with the rest of them for questioning," Suki ordered as two of the other warriors dragged the paralyzed captain of the ship away in chains. After discovering the hoard of smuggled merchandise, Ty Lee had made quick work of the ship's crew. They were hardly a challenge at all, especially not to a warrior as formidable as the former acrobat. "Have you finished recovering all the goods?"

"We searched the ship top to bottom," Yun reported dutifully. "And we found the captain's secret ledgers. They're encoded, but the smuggled inventory should all be listed in there, along with the names and cargo of at least a dozen other ships."

"Great work! I'll send a copy to Sokka for decoding," Suki said with a nod as Yun handed her the thick black book. "This will definitely do some serious damage to that smuggling ring's efforts. Good job, everyone. Especially you, Ty Lee. I'm sorry I gave you a hard time earlier."

"Yeah, great work, Ty! I never would've thought to look inside the cabin walls!"

"Seriously…you're amazing, Ty Lee!"

Ty Lee shrugged and smiled, not keen to let anyone else in on the fact that she had discovered the hidden cache by pure dumb luck. "…Just doing my job!"

"How did you know they were counterfeit designer pants anyway?"

"Please, like Shangri Fabrics would ever make pants in that color? Yuck!" Ty Lee stuck out her tongue for extra emphasis, and all the other girls laughed. Ty Lee smiled. A small part of her couldn't help but relish the praise and recognition she was finally receiving from her fellow warriors.

"And I really doubt they would be shoving real designer pants inside the hull of their own ship," Neru said with a roll of her eyes. She was the cynical one in the group, and she reminded Ty Lee strongly of a certain dagger-wielding assassin back home in the Fire Nation.

Despite having spent these past two years on Kyoshi and as a citizen of the Earth Kingdom, Ty Lee still regarded the volcanic island nation to be her one true home.

Home was where the heart was, after all…

"Miss Suki! Miss Suki! Ah've bin lookin' all over fer ya!" came the cries of Old Man Yao, the messenger of Kyoshi Island. He was wrinkled and geriatric, but that man sure could run. Legend had it that in his youth, he could around Kyoshi Island seven times before even breaking a sweat.

"Mr. Yao? What's the matter? Why such a hurry?"

"An urgent letter from th' Royal Palace of th' Fire Nation 'rived today fer you," Mr. Yao exclaimed between deep breaths, producing an ivory white letter from his bushy white beard. "S'got the seal onnit an' everythin'!"

Suki's brow furrowed as she took the letter. A glimpse of the elegant red insignia of the Fire Lord on the envelope was enough to make Ty Lee's heart skip several beats. What news could have come so urgently from Zuko, and what did it have to do with Suki?

"Well? What does it say?" the group of Kyoshi Warriors asked, crowding around Suki like a flock of hungry birds. Ty Lee remained rooted to her spot, trying to keep as calm as possible.

Suki glanced up at Ty Lee and smiled as she handed her the letter.

"Looks like you're going to be needing that vacation after all, Ty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original A/N:  
> A lot of exposition, a little bit more plot, a tiny bit of subtext, and a lot more Ty Lee. There won't be so much of her in the next chapter because I'm experimenting with writing different points of view in third person, but she'll come roaring back soon enough.


	3. The Princess

They arrived at the remote complex around noon, just as the sun was climbing to its highest point in the sky. It was a beautiful day, and Mai hated it. She hated pretty much everything, save for her annoying little brother, her annoying boyfriend, and her annoying best friend, whom she hadn't seen in a year.

Said best friend was now chatting incessantly while walking up the stairs to the facility backwards and on her hands, as effortlessly as Mai was walking normally. Mai didn't know which skill was more laudable; Ty Lee's superhuman sense of balance or her inhuman ability to not require oxygen while talking.

Since the initial tearful reunion with the braided brunette (none of the tears belonging to Mai, of course), Ty Lee had only stopped to catch her breath once, after having severely squeezed Mai's own breath out of her. After that, she had gone on and on about all the various changes she noticed in and around Capital City, though it felt like she had never left at all.

Though both Ty Lee and Mai had grown considerably over the past two years, Mai had no trouble immediately recognizing the other girl at the crowded port. Even with her Kyoshi makeup, her added height, and the loss of some of the youthful roundness in her cheeks, Ty Lee was still unmistakably Ty Lee. She had the same earnest smile, the same bright eyes, and the same bubbly energy that Mai found obnoxiously bearable, though she would never admit it.

"It's been a really long time since I've ridden in a carriage…they don't have them on Kyoshi, and even if they did, I doubt Suki would let us ride in them. I feel so fancy not having to walk everywhere. But it feels so good to stretch out afterwards!" Ty Lee exclaimed happily as she flipped backwards into a standing position. "And the weather is so nice here! It's so much sunnier than on Kyoshi Island…It feels so great to be home! Isn't it just the most beautiful day ever, Mai?"

"Yeah, what a beautiful day to visit the loony bin," Mai deadpanned, her arms folded across her chest. Ty Lee laughed, but Mai could tell that something about it seemed slightly off, almost as if it were forced…though Mai was not aware Ty Lee had the ability to fake a laugh. In fact, everything about Ty Lee seemed slightly off, as she had gotten increasingly fidgety since leaving the port.

Mai sighed. Of course Ty Lee would be nervous…this would be the first time she'd seen Azula in years.

Azula, the former Crown Princess of the Fire Nation, and fearless leader of the three femme fatales. Azula, who once infiltrated Ba Sing Se and brought the Earth Kingdom to its knees. Azula, whose very name still inspired fear and awe everywhere Mai went.

Azula, whose mother never loved her and whose father only saw her as an instrument of war. Azula, who was now just a ghost of her former self, having fallen into the depths of insanity after Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal and her defeat at her brother's hands. Azula, whose hands were cold and eyes were empty, who now wasted her days locked away in a padded cell, staring at the ceiling.

It was hard to feel bad for Azula, who had once tried to kill Mai. But a part of the stoic girl did, whether it was out of an old sense of loyalty, fear, or genuine friendship. She had visited the firebender before with Zuko, once immediately after Mai was freed and once several weeks prior to this. In the days immediately following the end of the war, she was stark-raving mad, screaming and crying and thrashing endlessly in her cell. They had gagged her then with a metal mask, to prevent her from breathing fire all over the guards and herself. The Avatar had come to remove her bending that day, but Zuko argued against it. Mai thought it reckless to leave someone as dangerous as Azula with the ability to channel fire and lightning, but it was not her place to say. She held her tongue and the Avatar deferred judgment to Zuko, who insisted they could keep her safe without the need for such drastic measures.

"I've always been a fan of second chances…and third, and fourth. I know you may think of her as a monster, but she's still my sister. If things had turned out differently…it could've been me in there and not her," Zuko had said, and no one could argue with that.

It was then that they decided on a steady regimen of mood-altering drugs, combined with heavy, heat-resistant restraints and minimal exposure to sunlight to keep the deadly girl powerless. A mixture of lotus root and wood-sloth extract prescribed by the specialist was put in Azula's daily tea, which succeeded in keeping her meek and docile. It was hard watching the once ferocious Princess so effectively neutered by a simple mix of chemicals, but it was easier than watching her cry out for her absentee mother and father to come save her.

Ty Lee had not come that day, and Mai couldn't help but wonder why. Maybe Ty Lee knew it would have been too jarring to watch…or maybe she felt too guilty about betraying her Princess. Whatever the reason, she hadn't been there to witness Azula at her lowest point, something Mai was glad about. Ty Lee was made of steelier stuff than most people thought, but even Mai doubted that she could have handled such a sight.

But, Ty Lee was here now and, for better or worse, moments away from confronting the girl they once followed obediently across foreign lands.

Mai only hoped Azula wouldn't be catatonic and drooling when Ty Lee finally came to visit…although that would be pretty amusing.

The three entered the white building and were greeted by a number of staff, eager to please the Fire Lord and his companions. Among them was Du Yi, whom Mai recognized to be Azula's primary caretaker over the past year. He was renowned doctor from Ba Sing Se University, and a specialist in the relatively new field of mental health. Despite his numerous accolades, his well-groomed appearance (though Mai always thought he looked like a thin badgerfrog), and his almost-sycophantic deference to Zuko, there was something about him that set Mai's teeth on edge. Ty Lee seemed to feel the same way, as she immediately stiffened in his presence.

"Welcome, Fire Lord Zuko," Dr. Yi said, bowing deeply to Mai's boyfriend, who returned the gesture in a less exaggerated fashion. "How are you doing on this magnificent day?"

Dr. Yi's toothy smile was mildly unnerving to Mai, despite her penchant for being one quite nerved. She smiled inwardly to herself as a thought occurred to her. What she wouldn't give to sit in on a session between the doctor and his patient…

"Fine, thank you," Zuko said dismissively, never having been one for small talk. Mai liked that about him. "How is she doing today?"

"We've been making great progress with Azula, great progress indeed," the doctor boasted. Mai did not like the way he said Azula's name, as if she were a pet or a project instead of a person. Even though, in Mai's opinion, she wasn't much of a person. Still, not even crazy, murderous Azula, sick and twisted as she was, deserved to be regarded as something less than human. But Zuko trusted Dr. Yi, and it's not like they had much choice when it came to Azula's caretaker. The Earth Kingdom had stipulated that since Azula was not allowed to be placed on trial for reasons of both her age and her insanity, they were to be the ones to appoint her doctor. Zuko fought against it initially, but after deciding that it was better the Fire Nation not know of their prized Princess's madness, eventually conceded. Besides, Mai knew of very, very few people who could stand taking care of the Princess day in and day out, even when she wasn't completely insane.

"We've halved her dosage for the day in preparation for this meeting, so she may seem a bit jittery. On the plus side, she's been altogether more responsive as of late," the doctor said with extreme self-satisfaction, leading them to the windowless private meeting room. It was a large, white room that was completely bare, save for a single large scroll of painted pink flowers hanging on the right wall. "I do hope that this meeting is fruitful for you and your lovely companions, Fire Lord Zuko."

"I as well," Zuko said curtly, shaking the shorter man's hand. The man seemed to linger, expectantly. "…This is a private meeting with my sister, as I requested?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Pardon me, your Highness," the man hurried away, eager to acquiesce to Zuko's desires. The three were left standing in the white room by themselves, waiting.

Shortly afterwards the door opposite of them opened, and in came two earthbender guards, followed by one of the kindlier looking nurses pushing a wheeled chair. In the chair sat Azula, hands and legs chained.

Or at least, it resembled Azula. She wasn't like the Azula Mai remembered, not quite. Her hair, previously smooth and impeccable, was now long and disheveled, though it hadn't lost very much of its natural shine despite her circumstances. Her nails were kept short by the nurses, far shorter than Mai knew Azula preferred them, but it was probably for the best, if not for Azula's sake then for that of her caretakers. Her skin was now far paler than it had been in her prime.

How tragic that one should consider a mere fourteen years of age the prime of one's lifetime.

Azula had matured quite a bit as well over the past two years; Mai couldn't tell whether or not she was taller in her seated position, but she certainly looked older and much thinner than before.

The most noticeable change was in the Princess's eyes. Those distinct amber eyes, once known for their fire and piercing depths, were now dull and empty. She hardly blinked or even seemed to acknowledge the change in her surroundings.

It was unsettling, to say the least, to see firsthand just how far the mighty could fall.

"Azula," Zuko said steadily. The room was thick with silence. Mai didn't really know what they were expecting; her former leader had been sporadically catatonic for the past two years and the doctor could have only done so much to change that in just one. Mai glanced over at Ty Lee, who, despite her overabundance of nervous energy, was trying her best to keep perfectly still, like a weasel-mouse attempting to sneak by a sleeping cat.

"Zu-Zu."

Mai nearly started, but maintained her impassive composure. It had been ages since she'd heard that voice, and though time and other trials had caused it to lose some of its girlish timbre, it sounded as lilting and smooth as ever.

"You've gotten fat."

The stoic girl swallowed silently, though the acrobat next to her seemed to be stifling an unusually mirthful cough. Zuko himself seemed completely unfazed, but to her trained eye, she could see his brow twitch ever so slightly at the not entirely untruthful remark.

Azula's extended stay in this facility had done nothing to change her uncanny ability to pick at her compatriots' most tender wounds, Mai noticed.

"You've gotten thin," Mai's future husband replied, the faintest hint of a smile in his voice. Zuko would probably never admit it in a hundred years, but a small part of him, the part that had been forged in hatred and cruelty by his father's unforgiving hand, loved going toe-to-toe with his venomous little sister.

"Yes, well…there's nothing quite like a diet of jook and restricted movement to help me maintain my girlish figure," Azula said with a smile, tilting her head up at her older brother so that her long, black locks fell away from her face. Her golden eyes seemed to glimmer, invigorated once again for the first time in years. "I can hardly even eat it these days," she continued nonchalantly, her eyes scanning the room. She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "How does one make rice and water inedible?" She leaned back in her chair, appraising Zuko with those keen amber eyes once more. "So what's your excuse? Too many sweets and not enough stances in the Palace? A new level of dedication in molding yourself in the image of our dear old Uncle? Or is it the stress of the job that's getting to be too much? You'd better be careful with that, you know…any more stress and you could go bald overnight…and trust me, that's never been a very good look for you."

Mai should have been surprised that the former Crown Princess of the Fire Nation had maintained her razor-sharp tongue and wit during her ongoing battle with insanity, but she wasn't. Nothing much surprised Mai at all, even less anything to do with Azula.

Besides, one would truly have to be a fool to believe that Azula had ever been one hundred percent sane.

"If you're not careful, you'll grow a beard and look just like dad," Zuko said with a wry grin. Azula's smile faded slowly, her eyes once again becoming lifeless and dull. Zuko cleared his throat uneasily. "…We've both seen better days, haven't we?"

"Honestly, what did you expect?" Azula remarked with a sigh, looking off to the side at nothing in particular, aside from the wall scroll. She tapped her middle finger intermittently on the arm of her chair, a nervous tic that she had not possessed before, to Mai's knowledge. "You can't just give a _second-rate_ so much power and act surprised when everything _goes to pieces_. Though, I do have to give you _some_ credit for all your hard work in undoing _our_ legacy. I honestly thought we would've all been _burned to ash_ by insurgents by now."

"…What have you heard?" Zuko said slowly, a frown deepening on his lips.

"Heard? Nothing, nothing…what can you possibly hear when you're buried six feet in the ground with all this stone and padding? Besides…do I really look like I've been in any state to talk to anyone lately? Not that anyone ever visits…"Azula turned to look at her brother, though Mai could swear she saw her eyes rake over Ty Lee in the process. Ty Lee herself seemed to be staring pointedly at her toes.

"So, tell me, Zu-Zu…the suspense is just _maddening_. I'm going _stir-crazy_ here just thinking about it. Be a good older brother and tell your little sis what's wrong in your big wide world now, hm?" Azula asked, tilting her head back slightly, a devilish smile on her unpainted lips. She was getting more animated by the second, but not in a good way, Mai noticed. She seemed uncharacteristically fidgety, on edge, and uncomfortable. Her hands were gripping the arms of her chair tightly, so much so that you could see the whites of her knuckles, while her middle finger's twitches seemed to be getting faster and more erratic.

"If you haven't heard anything, then what makes you say that?"

Azula's smile returned as she peered up again at her older sibling, and her fidgeting seemed to die down.

"Oh, please, Zu-Zu. I'm _crazy_ , not stupid. I just have to wonder, after all these years, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the illustrious Fire Lord and his ever _loyal_ entourage?"

Azula's hawk-like gaze swept over Mai and fixed itself on Ty Lee. The normally energetic and flexible girl was now more rigid and still than her friend had ever seen her.

"…You're right. Our Nation is on the brink of a civil war…and Father's trial is coming up."

Azula's eyes fell back on her brother, and Mai saw Ty Lee relax slightly. Another moment under Azula's scrutiny and Mai was certain her friend would simply have willed herself out of existence.

"Shhhh," Azula hushed, tapping her middle finger against the arm of her chair lightly. "Speak quietly, Zu-Zu. These walls might not have ears but they're not deaf."

Zuko seemed unaffected by Azula's nonsensical utterance, and pressed on, though his impatience manifested himself in the light tapping of his foot.

"The Earth King will be pushing for the harshest sentence possible, and the Water Tribe will surely follow," Zuko continued when his manacled sister said nothing. "If they get their way…Father will be executed."

"So what does this have to do with me?" Azula asked quietly, gazing off to the side again at the stupid scroll. It wasn't even that good a painting.

"…I need your help."

"Naturally. You never were one to do things on your own," Azula said with a snide smile, still tapping her finger, but now it was slow and rhythmic to match her languorous speech. "Couldn't beat dad, couldn't face me, couldn't even be banished without me getting you a whole fleet to babysit you…I guess that's what happens when you had Mother to coddle you for so long! I'm glad she didn't love me…because at least now I'm not as pathetic as you."

"…And yet you're the one that's chained to a chair while I sit on the royal throne."

Mai would have face-palmed right then and there if she hadn't been so used to this. The two siblings had always been toxic for one another, and infinitely moreso whenever Ursa was brought up.

"If it's even royal anymore with you on it. The Avatar handed you your throne, you didn't even earn it. And don't think for a second that you even deserve it," Azula hissed, her fingers digging into the arms of her chair.

"And you do? Don't forget, Azula, you're my _younger sister_ , not my older brother. The throne has never belonged to you."

"At least I would know what to do with it. I sometimes wonder; did mother ever have an affair with a flying lemur? Because I have no idea how I have such a half-wit for a brother!"

"At least I'm not _insane_."

"At least I'm not the one asking for advice from a _crazy person_."

"At least I have people who care about me."

"At least I'm not stupid, ugly, AND fat."

"I'm not _fat_. And besides, I look just like you, so who's the stupid one now?"

"Let me ask the voices in my head. Oh my, it's unanimous. First thing they've agreed on all year. You are! You're the stupid one!"

"You're insane!"

"I know I am but what are you? Oh, that's right. Stupid. Fat. Ugly."

"At least people still like me. You might be smart and pretty but you have _nobody_!"

"Because _you_ **stole** them all!"

"So what does that say about you?"

The two siblings fell silent, each one glaring daggers deadlier than Mai ever wielded at each other. She cleared her throat.

"Are you guys done yet?" Mai deadpanned, looking at her nails dispassionately. For the Royal Family, they could be so childish. Thank Agni none of the detractors could see them now.

The longest minute vacant of everything save silent glaring passed.

"…Now that we've gotten _that_ out of the way…What do you need help with, Zu-Zu?" Azula asked casually, as if they hadn't been ready to tear each other apart moments earlier. "What's on your big royal plate that you can't swallow? I have a royal plate too, but it's filled with bugs. And it's a bowl," Azula said off-handedly, glancing off to the side.

"I need you…to testify against dad," Zuko said calmly, also as if he hadn't been screaming at her moments earlier.

"…I see," Azula mused, tilting her head to the side. "I understand now."

Zuko's brow furrowed. "Do you?"

"Absolutely. Hate to disappoint you, but my answer is no," Azula said with a smile. "You may leave now. Guards! Take me back to my cell, I believe I have some _jook_ to eat."

The guards and nurse began to wheel her away obediently, but Zuko stopped them. Mai smirked internally. Even chained up in a mental facility, Azula somehow managed to get people jump on her command without question. She would have been impressed, but again, very little ever impressed Mai.

"You haven't even heard what we're prepared to offer you in exchange," Zuko said, regaining the composure befitting of a Fire Lord. "I know we've had our differences Azula, but if you cooperate—"

"Tsk. I'm not interested in anything that's _yours_ to give," Azula interrupted him with a wave of her hand as casual as one could manage whilst being bound by iron chains. To her credit, it was extremely effortless. "Guards! I'm waiting. I don't have all day…Or is that all I have?"

"Wait!" Ty Lee cried out, suddenly bursting with the energy she'd been fighting so hard to contain. "Azula, don't you want to hear what he has to say at least?"

Azula paused and seemed to consider Ty Lee, her eyes falling on her thoughtfully. Her face became instantly unreadable, and her eyes seemed to dull once more. Suddenly, she spoke.

"I'm sorry, but father always told me not to talk to strangers, much less take advice from them," Azula said, her eyes closing as she shook her head and waved Ty Lee away dismissively.

Mai could feel Ty Lee deflate somehow.

"…Strangers? Azula, it's me, Ty Lee. Don't you…recognize me?" Ty Lee asked with uncertainty. Mai, on the other hand, was certain the other girl had just wandered headfirst into one of Azula's traps.

"Ty Lee? Oh no, you must be mistaken. You're a Kyoshi Clown, not a Fire Nation acrobat! The Ty Lee _I_ know would never willingly become part of a _matched_ _set,"_ Azula said sweetly, her cadence masquerading the overwhelming venom in her voice. "I think you might have a case of mistaken identity…but don't feel bad. I had one of those before as well…I thought I was the Fire Lord, but I was wrong. Apparently that's not a very common case but it's perfectly treatable. Maybe you belong in here, too!"

Ty Lee deflated further, taken aback by Azula's cutting remarks. Mai frowned deeply.

"Oh, but if you do end up here, you should stay away from me. I don't like people who don't know who they are or whose side they're on. It's very confusing. Hurts just thinking about it," the former Crown Princess said detachedly, though Mai knew she was perfectly aware of how much damage her words were doing. "Now I really must be going. Cold _jook_ is so unappetizing, even without all the _things_ they put in it when they think I'm not looking. I'd heat it up myself, but, well…"

Azula trailed off, looking down at her chains. She smiled bitterly as the guard began to roll her away. "If you do come across the real Ty Lee, be sure to send her my way. We have so much catching up to do," she called as she and her escorts disappeared through the doorway. The Earth Kingdom doctor rejoined them soon afterwards, smiling broadly.

"Well, you're all alive and not burnt," the doctor said with a pleasant smile. "I think that went as well as could be expected, wouldn't you say?"

"Can we go now?" Mai asked, rolling her eyes. "This place is depressing, even for me."

She didn't know what they were expecting when they came, and yet somehow she had expected all of this. Even having fallen from grace, Azula still remained more or less the same; cold, manipulative, and cruel, only now her instability made all her deepest wounds more apparent to the outside world. Once upon a time, Mai had admired Azula for her strength and independence. She was free to do as she pleased whenever she pleased, something that Mai herself yearned for. But only now did Mai truly realize Azula's freedom had been a charade all along; another deviously crafted lie in the Princess's arsenal. She was no more free now than she was then, even locked behind stone walls with padding.

And, to make matters worse, she was absolutely, positively, one hundred percent owlbat insane.

One thing Mai truly did not expect was Zuko's behavior the minute they arrived back at the Palace. It was true that over that past few years Zuko's frame had gotten slightly softer than it had been during the war, as was common for warriors who hung up their weapons in favor of brushes and paper. His lack of sleep, along with the added stress of his new job as sovereign ruler of a divided Fire Nation, exacerbated his condition greatly. The Royal Pastry Chefs weren't exactly doing their part to help, either. But now, for the first time in months, he drew his swords and practiced his stances until the moon both rose and fell.

Mai smiled to herself. If there was one thing Azula was good for, it was pushing Zuko to his absolute limits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild Azula appears! I know authors get a lot of flack for their portrayals of crazy Azula, so I was a little nervous writing this one out. If you don't like her, I suggest you wait and see where this goes, but who am I to tell you what to do. Finally, a whole chapter done from Mai's POV was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I still think she's easier than writing for Zuko, though.
> 
> Small note - when Zuko says the crown has never belonged to Azula, from his point of view, it hasn't. He's always seen himself as the Crown Prince, even when he was banished ("Zuko Alone") and Azula was officially the Crown Princess.


	4. The Problem

"I'm  _telling_  you, there's something _wrong_  with her!" Ty Lee exclaimed, but Zuko was having none of it.

"Yeah. That's why she's in there in the first place," Zuko responded as-a-matter-of-factly as he sat at his desk, looking over paperwork and sipping his tea quietly. Ty Lee didn't even know why he drank tea; it's not as if he actually liked it. Maybe it was just something that he was doing to show how refined or mature he'd become.

Whatever the reason, there wasn't much she wanted to do more at that moment than knock that cup out of his hands and force him to listen to her.

"I meant more than normal," Ty Lee explained, trying to keep her exasperation to a minimum. "It's that place. They're doing something to her, I just know it."

"I hope they are, otherwise all that grant money we've poured into there will be for nothing," Zuko said wryly, taking another long sip of tea.

"I meant bad things! Awful, terrible things!" Ty Lee exclaimed, slamming both her hands into her desk. "I don't know what, exactly, but it's not good for her! Whoever I saw in there…whatever I saw in there…it wasn't Azula. She wasn't acting like herself. And it was like she was trying to tell me something but she couldn't because…well, I don't know why but something is wrong about this! Very, very wrong!"

"Ty Lee," Zuko said as calmly as he could. He removed Ty Lee's hands from covering his stacks of paperwork, then looked up at her. "I know seeing her like that isn't easy for you. And it must have come as such a shock after all this time. But…you haven't been here for the past two years. You haven't seen her since she snapped. You don't know what she's been like."

Ty Lee clenched her jaw and lowered her head, staring angrily at the floor. He was right, after all; she was absent these past two years, having willingly removed herself from the picture for reasons of her own. She couldn't help but feel guilty…perhaps if she had remained, if she had visited once in a while, things would have turned out differently…

"I know I haven't been here…haven't been there for her…but I still think you're wrong," Ty Lee said adamantly, looking Zuko square in the eyes. "Deep down, under all that crazy, she's still Azula, and…and I just  _know_  that something terrible is happening in there. I can just  _feel_  it!" Ty Lee continued, gesturing wildly with her hands. She gasped suddenly, eyes widening as if smacked in the face with realization. "It could be ghosts! Do you think it's ghosts?"

Zuko exhaled sharply, trying his best not to rest his forehead in his palm. "Ty Lee, please. You've just had a long trip, it's been an eventful day, and you're upset."

"Of  _course_  I'm upset! There could be  _ghosts_  in there, Zuko,  _ghosts_!" Ty Lee exclaimed, pointing to nowhere in particular. She paused, listening to herself for a moment. "Okay, maybe not ghosts but  _something_  is happening in there and I'm going to get to the bottom of it!"

"Ty Lee," Zuko said sternly. Ty Lee noticed the slight twitch of his scarred eye, a familiar sign that meant his temper was flaring. "I didn't ask you to come here because I wanted you to play detective."

"Then why  _did_  you ask me to come, huh?"

Zuko sighed, looking down at his paperwork. So much of it, all unfinished. He looked back up at the smaller girl, still awaiting his answer eagerly.

"I told you that I asked Suki to send a Kyoshi Warrior because I needed protection," Zuko continued. "With Father's trial coming up, and all the unrest in the Capital lately, Mai thought it would be best if I had some help around here…aside from the Earth Kingdom soldiers King Kuei was so…kind…to lend us," Zuko said with a little difficulty, warily eyeing the Earth Kingdom soldiers standing outside the window. "But there's more to it than that. I asked specifically for you for a reason."

"I asked you to come here…to talk to my sister," Zuko said at last. "To convince her to testify at Father's trial. You've always been able to get through to her when no one else could."

Ty Lee looked at the ground, that odd sinking feeling in her stomach returning.

"But seeing how she reacted to you, I see now that that may not have been the wisest choice."

Her stomach sank even further.

"And there's something else, too," Zuko continued. "You might want to take a seat for this next part."

* * *

Ty Lee exhaled sharply as she closed the door behind her. It really had been a long day, and it wasn't until she stopped to catch her breath that she realized it.

After doing a thorough security sweep of the grounds with the handful of remaining Palace Guards, Ty Lee had divvied up shift duties with Mai and was just now returning to her room. She was glad to see the servants had brought up her bags in her absence, though it wasn't much. Ty Lee had never been one for worldly possessions, as she was accustomed to the austere life of a travelling circus performer. Despite her upbringing as a Fire Nation noble, she wanted nothing to do with her family or their wealth. She had made that perfectly clear the day she ran away from home.

Azula had been there that day.

* * *

_"Azula! What—um…w-what are you doing here?" Ty Lee stammered, hastily shoving her satchel of clothing under her bed with her foot. She did not know what good it would do; Azula had the eyes of a hawk and the brain of a…really smart human._

_"Is not a princess allowed to go wherever she pleases?" Azula asked casually, her hands clasped behind her back as her eyes slowly scanned the room. Ty Lee's heart rate doubled._

_"Oh! Um, ah, I didn't mean—I mean, well, yes, of c-course…my mistake, Princess," Ty Lee mumbled, inclining her head deferentially._

_"Relax. I'm just joking," Azula said lightly, but Ty Lee wasn't sure how much she really believed her. "I was looking for you. Everyone is. They're waiting for you to cut the cake, but apparently none of them had the proper sense to check your room."_

_"I'm surprised they even remembered I exist," Ty Lee muttered bitterly._

_Ty Lee had six sisters, all identical to her, but not all the same age. In order to make things easier for her family, they would all celebrate their birthdays on the same day with a gigantic party, and every year it was on a different day. Last year they had all celebrated on Ky Lee's birthday, and the year before that, My Lee's. This year, it was supposed to be Ty Lee's turn._

_They had forgotten, and were celebrating on Sun Lee's birthday instead._

_"The invitations have already gone out."_

_"We'll celebrate yours next year."_

_That was the final straw. She'd already endured a lifetime as "one of the Lee sisters", as well as a wardrobe consisting almost entirely of hand-me-downs, her parents calling her the wrong name, her sisters "borrowing" but never returning anything she owned that they didn't already have, her sisters stealing her meals, both random strangers and her close friends mistaking her for her sisters in school, in the city, in her own home…_

_There were only two things in the world that made Ty Lee feel special. Her prodigious acrobatic skill, and her friendship with the Princess of the Fire Nation, neither of which any of her sisters possessed._

_Even though she was in the same class as My Lee and Ky Lee, and all her sisters attended the same school, it was Ty Lee whom Azula had chosen to be friends with. Why that was, Ty Lee didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she ever would._

_Being friends with the Princess of the Fire Nation came with a multitude of benefits, Ty Lee had realized early on. It meant Ty Lee was often invited to play with Azula at the Royal Palace, which was at least ten times larger than the Lee family's entire estate and ten times as nice. It meant Ty Lee's family would subsequently ask her for every detail of the Royal grounds, which most normal citizens had never laid eyes upon, and Ty Lee would relish the attention she received as she recounted each and every detail painstakingly. It meant that as long as Ty Lee refrained from making Azula cross, something which she was far better at than most people, she could count on Azula to show up to her parties, which was a source of great pride for the Lee family as well as something her father often flaunted over the other nobles._

_Ever since Azula had chosen Ty Lee to be her friend, her entire family's social standing had risen considerably. But apparently not even that was enough to get her parents to remember their youngest daughter's birthday._

_And so, here she was, her bag packed and ready to go, with only one last obstacle in the way._

_"Going somewhere?" Azula asked, ignoring Ty Lee's statement and pointedly eyeing at the bag the braided girl had been trying to hide behind her foot._

_And what an obstacle she was._

_"N-no…" Ty Lee stammered, rubbing the back of her neck. "I…I was just…"_

_"Don't lie, Ty Lee," Azula said sternly. "It doesn't suit you."_

_Ty Lee sighed. There were certain things that not even Azula was good at, but detecting lies was not one of them._

_"I'm running away," Ty Lee said firmly, with as much bravado as she could muster._

_"Well, **obviously** ," Azula deadpanned, using two of her fingers to pick up a pair of stray pajama pants hanging out of a half-opened drawer. She unceremoniously dropped them back in, then rubbed her fingers together as if there had been dirt on them. "I asked where you were going, not what you were doing."_

_"Oh. Um…I…I don't know for sure," Ty Lee answered truthfully. There was no point in trying to hide the truth from Azula. "Anywhere. Just…away from here."_

_"What's so bad about here?" Azula asked both innocently and probingly, catching Ty Lee's gaze. It felt as if she were holding it hostage, which was how it often felt to make eye contact with the fiery Princess. Ty Lee could feel her pulse quicken._

_"Everything," Ty Lee answered._

_Azula raised a single, perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Oh?"_

_"W-Well…not **everything**. Not you, of course! But…everything else."_

_That wasn't entirely truthful, but she prayed Azula did not notice._

_"I see," Azula said lightly, looking at her nails. Ty Lee was glad to have a break from the intense eye contact, but it didn't last. "So everything here is terrible and you're running away from home…and you don't even have a plan?"_

_"I'll manage," Ty Lee said with a nod. She wasn't sure exactly who she was trying to convince. "…I was thinking about joining the circus."_

_"The circus?" Azula asked with mild surprise. "If I'd known you'd still wanted to join the circus I'd have asked you to accompany Zu-Zu on his wild goose chase. Or bought some platypus-bears for the Imperial Garden."_

_Ty Lee blinked._

_"I was joking," Azula explained._

_Ty Lee laughed. "I guess your brother is a bit of a clown."_

_Azula laughed a real laugh, not one of her fake laughs or cruel laughs, and it was among the best sounds Ty Lee had ever heard._

_"Mm…I suppose the circus makes sense given your talents and disposition," Azula said with a light sigh. "You could do a lot worse."_

_Ty Lee's naturally large eyes widened._

_"Y-you mean…you're not going to stop me?"_

_"Why would I? It's not **really**  my place to interfere with your decisions…no matter how ill-advised they are," Azula drawled, examining her perfectly manicured nails once more. "Besides, I'll be too busy helping father with the war effort to bother with you and Mai."_

_It sounded harsh, but Ty Lee knew it was just Azula being Azula. Ty Lee grinned widely and threw her arms around the girl, pulling her into a tight embrace. The black-haired Princess stiffened at first, then relaxed and returned the hug lightly._

_"Oh, thank you thank you thank you Azula!" Ty Lee cried, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I'm…I'm really going to miss you, you know."_

_"Yes, yes, whatever," Azula said hurriedly, breaking off the hug with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If you don't get out of here soon they're going to catch you. Even a blind lemur manages to find a lychee nut every once in a while."_

_"Thank you, Princess Azula," Ty Lee said, bowing deeply to her superior. "I owe you one."_

_"Consider it an early birthday present," Azula replied nonchalantly. Ty Lee smiled. She would have been surprised that Azula had remembered that her birthday was not for another month, but Azula never forgot anything. "Now, go. I hear your father coming."_

_Ty Lee grabbed her satchel and quickly made her way out the window, just in time to hear the door open. She knew it was unwise, but she couldn't help herself from listening in on the exchange between Azula and her father._

_"P-Princess Azula! I did not expect—my deepest apologies, your Highness! I did not wish for you to witness such a terrible mess as this…I had no idea my daughter kept her room in such a state—"_

_"Speaking of your youngest daughter, have you found her yet? I grow weary of waiting."_

_"N-not yet, your Grace. But I assure you, we will. Perhaps we may proceed to cutting the cake without her…"_

_"Without her? Tell me, what kind of a cake is it, Mr. Lee?"_

_"What? I-I don't understand…"_

_"It's a simple question. What kind of a cake will we be cutting?"_

_"A-a birthday cake, your Majesty."_

_"And remind me, whose birthday cake is it?"_

_"My daughters', your Majesty."_

_"And is not Ty Lee one of your daughters?"_

_"Y-yes, your Majesty."_

_"And is she not as important as the rest of your daughters, Mr. Lee?"_

_"She is, your Majesty."_

_"That's where you're wrong, Mr. Lee. She is **more** important than the rest of your daughters. You see, were it not for Ty Lee's invitation, I would not have found it in my good grace to attend your little party. And since she is nowhere to be found, nor deemed important enough to be waited for, then I shall no longer be in attendance."_

_"B-but your Majesty—!"_

_"Are my ears not working, or did you just disagree with me?"_

_"N-no, of course not, your Majesty…"_

_"So my ears must not be working then?"_

_"N-no, of course not…"_

_"Well, it must be one or the other. Which one is it?"_

_"…I-I did not mean to disagree with you, your Grace. I only mean to urge you to stay for the remainder of the festivities."_

_"That's what I thought. Your plea is earnest but unfortunately, I have more important things to do than to watch uncut cakes and search for absentee birthday girls. That's a negligent father's job, wouldn't you agree?"_

_"Y-yes, of course, your Highness. I understand completely."_

_"I hope for your sake that you do. Oh, and in the future…do try to keep a better eye on your youngest daughter, will you? I would hate to miss out on all your illustrious parties should she not be in attendance…as I'm sure your family will hate to miss out on having all the benefits of my presence."_

_"Of course, your Highness. I will do better to keep an eye on her from now on."_

_"Yes, see that you do. Now see me to my carriage; I do hope what skill you lack in parenting you can at least make up for in hospitality."_

_"Yes, of course, your Highness. Right this way!"_

_Ty Lee did her best to suppress her laughter as she overheard the entire conversation. She felt a little guilty for setting Azula on her hapless father like that, but she felt even guiltier that she had enjoyed it so thoroughly._

_With all the commotion caused by the Princess's abrupt departure (consequently inciting several other noble families to leave), Ty Lee escaped her family's grounds without detection. She thought about leaving a note behind in order to explain why she was doing what she was, but she hadn't had the time due to Azula's sudden but not entirely unexpected arrival. If it weren't for Azula, it might have taken her family weeks to even notice she was missing, but they would certainly notice her absence now. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing._

_Either way, she was free, and she had Azula to thank in part for that._

* * *

It felt like a lifetime ago, that night Ty Lee had run away from home to join the circus. She had only managed to stay with the circus for six months before Azula showed up to take it all away, just as easily as she had given it. Ty Lee had been foolish to think that she had escaped her past life completely, for as long as Azula existed, she knew there was no escaping her.

Even now, with Azula trapped behind locks and stone walls like a caged dragon, Ty Lee was willingly going to her.

She had already decided, in spite of what Zuko had said. She was going to visit Azula tomorrow, and she was going to talk to her, and there weren't going to be any ghosts, and everything was going to be fine and—

Ty Lee's head dropped face-first into her vanity. What was  _wrong_  with her?

Why did she even care about this awful girl who had, on numerous occasions, put the lives of both Ty Lee and her friends in serious mortal danger? Why was she still concerned about this horrible girl with perfect hair and perfect eyes who manipulated, used, and abused people as if they were nothing but little straw dolls piled in a box for her amusement? Why couldn't she stop thinking about this wretched girl with the perfect face and perfect body and perfect brain, except for all the scary, crazy parts, who seemingly killed the Avatar without a single hint of remorse, who would have killed Mai if it weren't for Ty Lee's intervention, and who would have been perfectly happy leaving Ty Lee to rot in jail for the rest of her life had she not lost the war?

Ty Lee hit her forehead against the smooth surface of the mahogany vanity over and over again.

It was madness, and Ty Lee knew it. She wasn't stupid, no matter what she had often led people to believe. Maybe she  _did_  belong in the asylum, but then she might have to be roommates with Azula, and boy would  _that_  be awkward.

Ty Lee let out a long groan and lifted her face up, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She grabbed a cloth and began to angrily wipe away her Kyoshi make-up. She knew she shouldn't have worn it to see Azula, but it was part of the uniform and she was technically on duty at the time. She knew she had been just asking for Azula's specific brand of emotional cruelty by going to visit her dressed like this. But she had tried to convince herself that she didn't care what Azula thought or what she would say.

She was wrong.

Azula's words hurt. They hurt a lot. She knew that by admitting that to herself, by recognizing that Azula had gotten to her, she was letting the other girl win, just as she had so many times before. Azula had never been a gracious loser, but she was also incredibly skilled, and the few games Ty Lee could beat her at, she almost never did because victory was never worth the price of inciting the Princess's wrath.

But she wasn't going to let Azula win any more. Not if she ever wanted to be free of whatever inexplicable hold the other girl seemed to have on her.

Ty Lee always thought that confronting one's problems head-on was foolish, and there were better, sneakier ways to deal with them, such as ignoring they exist and avoiding them altogether or running away from them. But she was tired of running, tired of trying to push everything deep, deep down, tired of pretending the problems didn't exist, tired of restless nights and prolonged daydreams, tired, tired, and tired, and if it meant getting a good night's rest for the first time in who knows how many years, then it was time to turn around, dig in her heels, and face the obstacle she had been avoiding for so long.

But what an obstacle she was.

Ty Lee looked at herself in the mirror and saw her bare face looking back. She looked tired, and knew she should try to get some rest before tomorrow. She would hate to have an outbreak of acne overnight, because if she did, Azula would probably be relentless about it.

But she couldn't sleep just yet. The most important question of all still remained.

What the heck was she going to wear tomorrow?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much going on in this chapter except for a glimpse into Ty Lee's inner turmoil and a little blast to the past. I really enjoy writing Ty Lee, because it means stream-of-consciousness run-on sentences, a lot of rebelliousness, and a dash of silliness. I had a bit too much fun writing the part where Azula takes Mr. Lee down to Frowntown. More plot/character development coming up in the next chapter, wherein Ty Lee searches for ghosts at the mental institution. Just kidding. But not really.


	5. The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love a good cliffhanger, don't you? That was the longest (and most difficult to write) chapter yet. Poor Ty Lee. So conflicted, and in some serious levels of denial. Her thoughts on Azula have been pretty subtle until now, I think. Tons of pain and hurt between the two of them, on both sides. Angry and confused Ty Lee is so much fun to write, as is Hannazula Lecter. Don't worry; their conversations will have progressively less double-talk later on. Next chapter will have a bit of plot development and exposition, some answered questions, some more questions raised, and a whole lot of creepiness. And thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed! You guys are awesome!

It had taken Ty Lee a little longer to get to the facility than she had anticipated, which meant the visit would be shorter than she had planned for, but maybe that was a good thing. She had stopped by the marketplace that morning in order to pick up a new outfit to wear, and then found herself completely overwhelmed.

It would seem like an inane decision to some people, but not to Ty Lee. Most of the clothing she currently possessed was just a variation of the Kyoshi uniform, and she already knew she could not wear that to visit Azula after the reaction she elicited last time. She also had some casual outfits akin to what most of the other islanders wore, but Kyoshi Island was not really known for its particularly pretty or fashionable garb. She was visiting Azula after all, who, in spite of being a twitchy ball of poorly groomed nerves chained to a wheeled chair, probably still cared about others' outward presentations.

Besides, Ty Lee wanted to give off the impression that she was doing well for herself, if not for Azula's sake then for her own. She had always wanted to be independent, and now that she was, it was time to show that she could live comfortably with it.

And so, she had gone to the marketplace to peruse the latest in Fire Nation fashions, only to find their prices to be much higher than what she could reasonably afford.

Maybe she should have taken those counterfeit designer pants from that cargo ship after all…

She agonized over her purchase for quite some time. Ty Lee's favorite color was pink, but Azula once expressed her approval of Ty Lee's pink outfits, so maybe Ty Lee didn't want to wear pink because that was what Azula wanted, but maybe Ty Lee shouldn't care what Azula thinks and just do what she wants because she's her own person now and she shouldn't be concerned about crazy Azula of all people, but she  _was_  just getting this outfit for the purpose of visiting Azula, otherwise she would be wearing her Kyoshi uniform, and why wasn't she wearing that to begin with because she wasn't supposed to care what Azula thought in the first place—

Not pink.

She didn't want to wear black, either, because black was depressing, and she had read somewhere that the color red could serve as an irritant to inmates or other people in prison, so no red, and that was basically eliminating almost the entirety of what the Fire Nation had to offer in terms of clothing.

Ty Lee then spotted some white clothing, but white could be misinterpreted as the color of mourning, and it was the color the patients at the facility wore, and she didn't want to get mistaken for a patient, especially not if the place was crawling with ghosts as Ty Lee had feared.

So, no white.

Finally, she had found a nice little boutique with beautiful purple clothing, which certainly wouldn't have been Ty Lee's first choice but was also far from her last. But then that store had two different tops, both of which had cute styles but only one of which really accentuated Ty Lee's figure. She debated whether or not she wanted to show that off when visiting a mental institution, especially considering who she was visiting, and how Ty Lee felt about who she was visiting, which was something Ty Lee did not really want to think about right now or really, ever.

Then she saw the price of each top, both of which were well over what Ty Lee made in a month. She had never really had to worry about money before, what with her hand-me-downs, the nice costumer at the circus, Azula's habit of footing all the bills, and the spartan life of a Kyoshi Warrior. She never realized just how expensive nice things were. Why did nice things have to be so expensive?

In the end, if she was going to buy something expensive, she might as well buy something she'd wear multiple times, so she went with the light lavender, almost white top with the violet-blue trim that accentuated her…ample assets.

And now here she sat in the cold, nearly empty waiting room, goosebumps pimpling up on her bare arms, regretting her decision to buy this very nice but not very practical silken top. It was freezing in the waiting room. What kind of an institution gives its visitors frostbite, anyway?

She should have just worn the stupid uniform.

"Miss Lee? Dr. Yi is here to see you," the receptionist said, snapping Ty Lee out of her reverie.

"Oh, um, yes, thank you," Ty Lee replied with a curt nod. It was surprising that this facility managed to have so many guards and staff while the Royal Palace was nearly devoid of people, except for a handful of Imperial Guards, servants, and the grouchy Earth Kingdom soldiers forcefully planted there. Zuko explained that in recent years, he had been forced to make a series of concessions to Earth King Kuei in the aftermath of the war. One of them had been the mandatory occupation of the Fire Nation and its capital by Earth Kingdom soldiers, who were there to help "ensure that peace efforts would persist".

More like to turn the once mighty Fire Nation into an Earth Kingdom-controlled police state. Even the marketplace was crawling with Earthbending soldiers, just itching to throw any Fire Nation citizen into jail for the slightest misdemeanor. They'd already gotten rid of over half of the staff at the Royal Palace on some trumped up charges of "conspiring against the peace" or whatever it was Zuko had complained about.

Ozai would weep if he could see his country now, Ty Lee thought wryly. Azula would probably just burn everything to the ground.

"Ty Lee is it? Dr. Yi," the amphibious-looking man said to the acrobat, extending his hand. "I believe we had the pleasure of meeting yesterday."

"Yes, hi doctor," Ty Lee responded, shaking the man's hand. It was slightly clammy, which made Ty Lee even more uncomfortable than she already was. Something about this froggy little man made her nervous…quite possibly his slimy, muddy green aura and smug self-satisfaction.

"So…you're here to see my number one patient," the doctor said with a deep smile that curved his beard upwards. Ty Lee did not like anything about the way he spoke of the former Fire Nation princess. "I don't believe I was informed of this in advance."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry for the short notice," Ty Lee murmured. She had not thought to do that. "That was a mistake on my part."

"It happens," the doctor said, still smiling. "So is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Huh?" Ty Lee asked, furrowing her brow. "Uh…Can I see her now?"

"Oh, you misunderstand. I apologize for not being clear," the doctor said with exaggerated regret. He adjusted the shining, overly-polished glasses on his face. "I'm afraid that since you did not make an appointment in advance, we cannot allow you to see her. It's our policy."

Ty Lee could feel her stomach drop as she looked to the ground, crestfallen. "Oh, I see… I wasn't aware that I had to make an appointment just to see her…"

"Normally not, but she is a rather…special case," the doctor explained. "Perhaps you can try again tomorrow after you've made a proper appointment."

Ty Lee nodded solemnly, preparing herself to go. She had spent all night and morning fussing and fretting over this visit, mentally preparing herself for an encounter with the draconic Princess, and now she couldn't even follow through with it.

Poor little Ty Lee, who can't get anything right. She used to be able to, but not anymore.

No.

Ty Lee was not about to back down or be pushed around by some slippery doctor. She was tired of being meek and bullied by people who thought they were better than her, and she was not about to waste her whole morning break, her  _only_  break of the day, buying an expensive outfit that was  _purple_  of all colors, which she didn't even like that much, and trekking all the way out here for nothing, and she was definitely not going to wear this same top two days in a row, so there was absolutely no way that she was going to come back tomorrow.

Think, Ty Lee.  _Think._

"I especially wasn't aware that a Royal Inquisitor such as myself would have to make an appointment to see the Princess," Ty Lee said with as much confidence as she could muster. She reached into her bag, pretending to rummage around. "But I guess I'll just have to tell Zuko all about this and see if we can get it straightened out."

Ty Lee pulled out the letter to Suki, making sure that the side stamped with the Fire Lord's insignia was facing the doctor. She turned to the receptionist. "Excuse me, do you have a brush and ink and a messenger hawk available? The fastest one you have, please."

"Uh, wait just a moment, Hana," the doctor said to the receptionist, who sat back down in her seat. "I had no idea Fire Lord Zuko had appointed a Royal Inquisitor to…I'm sorry, you do what, exactly?"

Ty Lee smiled.

"I don't really think the duties of a  _Royal_  Inquisitor are any of  _your_  concern, doctor," she said, folding her arms across her chest as she did her very best Azula impression.

"Right. Of course," he nodded, again smiling his smile. "Well, I don't think I should keep you waiting much longer then. Right this way please, and leave your bag with Hana."

Ty Lee wondered if she'd left anything important in her bag, other than her clothes and the letter. She pulled the letter out and pocketed it quickly before handing her bag over to the bored receptionist and following the doctor.

"Unfortunately our private meeting room is booked for today, so you two will have to meet in the common room. Would that be acceptable to the two of you, or will you be discussing sensitive matters?" the doctor asked pryingly. Ty Lee wondered briefly whether or not the private meeting room really was booked.

"The common room will be fine for now," Ty Lee replied. She paused, and added confidently, "But next time I will require the use of a private room."

"Very well, Miss Lee," the doctor said with a nod as he opened the door to another room. This room, unlike the others, was filled with movement and noise. There were a number of guests visiting patients, some talking, some crying, some hugging and saying nothing at all. Toys, games, and picture books littered the floor and tables. To the acrobat, it looked more like a daycare than an asylum.

"Please, have a seat and wait here. I'll send a nurse to go fetch her shortly," the doctor gestured to an open table in the middle of the room. Ty Lee sat down hesitantly, still taking in her surroundings. "Don't worry. None of the patients here are dangerous, and if they are, they're restrained."

"Thank you," Ty Lee replied with a firm nod. The doctor returned the nod and then vanished through one of the three closed doors in the room.

Ty Lee looked around the room, doing her best not to fidget too much or stare at anyone in particular. There was a girl about her age there, who was being embraced tightly by her mother and father. She was a pretty girl, but she had a sad, distant look in her eyes. The girl looked down and began writing with a coalstick in a blank journal, causing her parents to burst into tears.

"CABBAGES!"

"Eek!" Ty Lee shrieked, nearly jumping out of her chair. Soon, other people in the room were screaming and crying, startled by her sudden outburst.

"S-sorry everyone," Ty Lee said frantically, bowing profusely to everyone around the room. "I didn't mean to shout. I'm sorry!"

"Cabbages…so many cabbages…" the bearded man who had scared Ty Lee mumbled, looking at the ground as he wandered away.

Yep. This was a nuthouse all right.

"Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee whirled around, startled again by a familiar voice saying her name. She smiled widely. She could recognize that clear blue-turquoise aura anywhere.

"Katara!" she cried as she pulled the waterbender into a tight hug. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ty Lee, how are you?" Katara asked with a warm smile that melted away the discomfort that had been steadily building in Ty Lee's stomach and spine.

"Oh, um, you know. Not crazy, just…visiting," Ty Lee explained hastily with a casual nod. "Um…what about you? What are you doing here? Are you…visiting a friend?"

Katara smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in her blue eyes. "Something like that."

Ty Lee nodded silently. She knew if Katara did not want to say anything more, she was not going to pry.

"What about you? Is…are you visiting—?"

"Yeah," Ty Lee said with a nod, and Katara nodded back. "She should be here any second now, if you want to—"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't…I wouldn't want to intrude, you know," Katara said quickly, managing another smile. "Actually, Aang is waiting for me in the other room, so I should probably get going anyway."

"Oh, yeah, of course. I understand."

"But um…maybe we can hang out sometime and catch up. Are you staying at the Royal Palace?"

"Yup. In my old room. Well, the guest room. Well, uh…just come by. I'm sure Zuko will be very glad to have you both. Mai maybe not so much but she's never glad, so…"

"Haha, yeah, I know what you mean," Katara laughed, easing the tension slightly. "Well, we were thinking of sticking around here for a while anyway…especially with everything that's happening right now. So…we'll definitely see you soon!"

"Yeah! Definitely," Ty Lee answered enthusiastically, waving as the waterbender exited through the same door the doctor had left through.

You just never knew who you were going to run into these days.

"Miss Ty Lee?" came a gentle voice. Ty Lee turned around to see the kindly nurse from yesterday, wheeling in a chair guarded on either side by earthbender soldiers. In the chair sat an all-too familiar face, the very sight of which caused Ty Lee's stomach to knot.

"Y-Yes, that's me," Ty Lee answered as firmly as she could. She sat back down at her small, square table as the nurse parked the chair on the other side.

"Azula, someone is here to see you," the nurse said gently to her patient, as a grown adult might to a small child. Azula was unresponsive, head tilted down slightly, staring at the ground. The nurse turned and smiled at Ty Lee. "She's usually like this, but I'll give you two some privacy. Call me if you need anything."

The nurse turned, walked ten feet away, and sat down at another table. Apparently the farthest table was what constituted as privacy around here.

Ty Lee took a deep breath, steadying herself. She kept her hands under the table, because she knew they were shaking, and she would never dare to show any signs of weakness anyone, let alone who she was visiting now.

"Azula," Ty Lee said, the name falling from her lips as easily as they always had, in spite of her efforts to stop herself from even recalling it over the past two years.

Silence.

"It's me."

No response.

"It's me, Ty Lee."

Still nothing.

Ty Lee sighed. Maybe she had wasted her morning and her money after all. Zuko was right; it had been a mistake to come.

"You came."

Ty Lee's eyes widened. She watched as Azula slowly lifted her head up, their eyes making contact, and Ty Lee falling hostage all over again.

"You shouldn't have," Azula mumbled quietly, before uttering a slow and deliberate, "Why?"

"To see you, Azula," Ty Lee replied, calmly and coolly.

"Nobody comes," Azula said slowly, as if each word was difficult to say. Her eyes looked around the room lazily. "Nobody ever comes."

Ty Lee frowned. Did Azula just insinuate that she was a nobody? She practically comatose, but already she was putting Ty Lee down.

"I'm sure that's not true, Azula."

"Not even mother," Azula whispered, looking down at the ground again. "Have you seen her?"

"Your mother? No, no one—"

"No," Azula said firmly, cutting Ty Lee off. "Yours."

"My mother? Have I seen my mother?"

Azula nodded.

"…No, I haven't…" Ty Lee mumbled, shrinking considerably. She did wonder about her family, sometimes, and she did feel guilty that she had never written them or checked up on them. She wondered idly if they ever thought about her, if they missed her, if they even remembered she had run away…

"Maybe you should," Azula mused thoughtfully, glancing off to the side. She seemed to focus on the doorway Katara had exited through. "Who else is here?"

"Besides me? No one," Ty Lee answered, her brow furrowed. Azula was speaking uncharacteristically, her words sluggish and deliberate, as if moving through globs of buzzard wasp honey. Her aura, which was normally a brilliant inferno of blues, reds, and golds, was now more like a dying ember, muddled in black smoke and gray ash. It was even weaker than her aura yesterday, which was like a candle behind a foggy window.

Maybe the ghosts had gotten to her and sapped her life force. Or maybe she  _was_  a ghost.

"Don't lie," Azula said sternly. "It doesn't suit you."

Nope. This was definitely Azula.

"I wasn't lying," Ty Lee insisted defensively. "It really is just me."

"Is that a new top?" Azula changed the subject abruptly, seemingly more energetic now. It was as if she were slowly awakening from a long nap. "It looks expensive. Must be worth several months of a Kyoshi Warrior's meager salary at least."

Damn it.

She  _knew_ , just by looking.

Definitely, definitely Azula.

"Someone bought it for me," Ty Lee lied. She knew it was a dangerous business lying to Azula, but she just blurted it out without thinking, not wanting Azula to think that she had gone out and bought a pretty top and gotten all dressed up just for  _her_.

Even if that was sort of true. What the heck had Ty Lee been thinking?

She really should have just worn the stupid uniform.

"Oh?" Azula asked, quirking one of her eyebrows with interest. "Who?"

"A boy," Ty Lee said, again a little more quickly and a lot more defensively than she would have liked. "Back home. On the island."

"Oh," Azula said lightly, her eyes remaining locked onto Ty Lee's even as she leaned back against her chair. "…I wasn't aware you liked…purple."

"You never asked," Ty Lee responded. That much was true, even if she didn't really like purple all that much.

Azula blinked lazily, then glanced off to the side at the girl with the coalstick, mercifully giving Ty Lee a reprieve from that soul-piercing stare.

"It looks good on you," Azula remarked off-handedly, still focusing on the girl with the coalstick and the book. Azula's finger began to twitch nervously again, something Ty Lee had noticed yesterday. Azula possessed no such nervous tic before, but perhaps her mental breakdown had unhinged her in ways beyond Ty Lee's comprehension. "The boy has good taste."

"I'll…let him know," Ty Lee lied again, and it seemed as if she was getting away with it. Still, one could never be too careful around Azula and her multitude of tricks. And there  _were_  many boys on Kyoshi Island who had given Ty Lee gifts...this shirt just didn't happen to be one of them. It was time to take control of the conversation and change topics. "So…h-how are you doing?"

Azula looked at Ty Lee appraisingly, tilting her head to the side. She seemed to be thinking, but the brunette was not quite sure. Something was off about her eyes, though Ty Lee couldn't figure out what, exactly.

"I'm bored," Azula said after several painful moments of awkward silence and staring. She leaned forward and lowered her voice into a whisper that sent chills down Ty Lee's spine. "Would you like to play a game with me?"

Kuai Ball. No, checkers. Old men playing checkers. Ugly old men playing checkers.

"A game? What kind of game?" Ty Lee asked warily. Years of experience had taught her that unless she knew exactly what it was, to never agree to do anything Azula said, especially not if Azula considered it fun. And even then, if Ty Lee did happen to know what the firebender was up to, it could still end very, very badly.

"Mm, what do we have?" Azula asked, looking around the room. "How about a rousing game of Pai Sho?"

Ty Lee looked over at the poorly kept Pai Sho mat with various tiles scattered all over it, sitting on an unattended table next to them.

"I'm not sure I have enough time for a game of Pai Sho."

"Oh, I'll make it quick," Azula insisted with a playful smile on her lips, still tapping slowly on the arm of her chair. "It'll be fun. Just like old times."

Ty Lee thought for a moment, then obediently fetched the Pai Sho set. She had imagined various scenarios of what would happen when she came to visit Azula by herself, but playing Pai Sho with the unstable Princess had not been one of them. Still, she knew better than anyone that if Azula didn't get what she wanted from Ty Lee, it would be nearly impossible to get what Ty Lee wanted from her.

And even that was usually an uphill battle.

"Some of the tiles are missing," Ty Lee commented, as was to be expected of a set kept in a mental institution. "Are you sure you want to play?"

"With you? Always," Azula said as-a-matter-of-factly, a small smile on the edge of her lips. "I don't have many I can play with around here. Except for the toad, but that's gotten tiresome. Besides, I don't need a full deck. Never have in my life."

Ty Lee couldn't help but smile slightly at Azula's confidence, which unlike her sanity remained unshakeable. She admired that about her, and she always had.

The acrobat divvied up the tiles between herself and Azula, keeping the deck with more tiles for herself. She placed the other stack closer to the former princess, who cleared her throat.

"Closer," Azula said quietly. She tilted her head, indicating the chains on her hands.

"Oh, right, sorry," Ty Lee mumbled abashedly. She pushed the stack of tiles closer.

"Closer, Ty Lee," Azula said again. She looked up and held Ty Lee's eyes with her own. "I don't bite."

Teeth. Komodo rhinos with thick, hairy skin. Big and wrinkly and ugly.

Ty Lee swallowed and took a deep, silent breath, steadily pushing the tile as close to the edge of the table as possible. Was it just her or was it getting warm in here? What kind of an institution broils their guests like this, anyway?

Without warning Azula's placed two of her fingers lightly on top of Ty Lee's hand, causing the poor brunette to freeze completely.

"FREEZE!" the guards shouted, causing the more sensitive patients in the room to fly into a frenzy once again. "HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!"

Azula smiled, obediently but slowly laying her hands on the arms of her chair, palms facing upward. Ty Lee raised her hands into the air, all the while staring bewildered at the guards.

"My, my," Azula drawled as the guards stepped forward to examine the two young girls. "How  _attentive_  you earthbenders are. If all soldiers were like you, perhaps it would not have been so easy for us to capture Ba Sing Se."

"They're clean," one of the earthbenders growled, after seeing neither of them had anything in their hands.

"Of course," Azula said liltingly, a devilish smile playing on her lips. "We're just two innocent girls playing a game. Did you think we were up to something sinister? Not very many grand and ancient cities I can topple from here."

Ty Lee furrowed her brow. Azula had definitely not touched her hand by accident, so what was that all about? Was she trying to scare her on purpose? Was this another one of her games?

"It's annoying how they're always watching," Azula explained quietly, returning her hands to their normal position. The tapping returned. "We'd better be on our best behavior…even the littlest things can be misinterpreted."

Ty Lee eyed Azula warily. Sometimes Azula meant what she said, and sometimes Azula did not. Sometimes what she said was laced with hidden meaning, sometimes it was meant to be taken with face value. But Ty Lee knew her well enough to know that right now, at this moment, Azula was trying to tell her something.

Or maybe she was just toying with her out of boredom. The nerve!

"It's your move, Ty Lee," Azula continued, tapping lightly on her tiles. "I've already gone and went."

Ty Lee looked at the blank, circular board before her. On instinct, she placed her first tile without much thought; she'd always been good at the ancient board game, but Azula was much better and she'd never managed to beat her once.

"How predictable," Azula said bemusedly, staring more at the player across from her than the tile that had been played. She was trying to unnerve her opponent, and Ty Lee knew it. She was familiar with most of the dark-haired girl's tactics, having observed most of them firsthand. "Good old Ty Lee. Always so reliable. Except for those times when she isn't."

Ty Lee bit her lip. She knew Azula was baiting her, trying to get her off her game. The worst part was, it was working. The remark sliced into her just as easily and just as deeply as the ones from yesterday. And here she was, having not learned anything after all this time, so easily and so readily slipping back into her old habit of letting Azula walk all over her.

Even after all this time, after two years without seeing her, surviving without her, trying to become an individual and yet simultaneously getting lost in the crowd, trying so hard to forget about the onyx-haired princess with the golden eyes and red lips…and Azula could  _still_  make Ty Lee feel so small with little more than a few words.

Not today, Ty Lee thought to herself. She wasn't a weak little girl any more. She was her own person now, free from Azula's tyranny, able to make her own decisions. She was free to do as she pleased; Azula was the one held captive now. For once, Ty Lee had the upper hand.

And if she wanted to win a stupid Pai Sho game, then by the Spirits she would do it.

"Your move," Ty Lee said curtly, arms folded across her chest.

"Why so quiet?" Azula asked innocently, rubbing two tiles together with one hand. The other hand was still twitching intermittently. "You're usually so very talkative."

"Just play the stupid game," Ty Lee snapped back, getting more and more irritable by the second. She had been free of Azula for two years, yet not a day went by when she didn't think about the cruel Princess that could shake Ty Lee deep to her core with just a breath. And now here she was, sitting across from her, pretending like nothing was wrong, making passive-aggressive jabs custom-tailored to Ty Lee's weaknesses, all while they suffocated underneath white walls and watchful eyes.

"What's this?" Azula asked, though it wasn't really a question. "It seems little Ty Lee has kept herself busy these past two years. She has a new job and new clothes and a new boy and a new face. I can hardly even recognize her. Why, she's even gone and got herself a backbone. Imagine that! Well done, well done indeed. Tell me, did you grow it yourself, or did you rip it out of someone else when they weren't looking?"

The old Ty Lee might have sat there and taken the abuse, not saying anything other than a profuse apology for speaking so coarsely to her Princess.

But she was not the old Ty Lee any more.

Ty Lee stood up, slamming her hand against the table. She didn't care who she startled.

"That's it. I'm out of here," Ty Lee announced loudly, hastily gathering herself and getting ready to go.

"Leaving so soon? Typical," Azula sneered. "One foot out the door and you don't even have the decency to say good-bye first."

Ty Lee was at a loss for words. She knew what Azula was referring to; she just had no idea that, after all this time, the girl was apparently bothered by it. She had never given the slightest indication of that before.

But that was Azula for you. Silently holding grudges for perceived slights for years and years, until one day she finally reared up and smacked you across the face with it.

"…Are you mad about  _that_?" Ty Lee balked. "But…that was so long ago!"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," Azula said with an acidic smirk. "I'm mad for  _lots_  of reasons."

"Flatter myself? Flatter myself? You—I—UGH!" Ty Lee grunted, digging her hands into her hair, ruining her perfect braid. "You are so— _frustrating_! I can't even—I don't even know why I came here in the first place," the acrobat muttered, shaking her head as she stormed toward the door, nearly knocking over the bearded cabbage shouter.

"Yes, why did you come? To stare at the monkey chained to a chair? Or to pity her? Poor Azula, with no mommy to love her and no daddy to care for. Poor, poor Azula. Do you want to know what she's been up to these past two years? What she thinks and how she feels? I might tell you if you stay…you might even find me a bit  _judicious_."

Ty Lee stopped dead in her tracks. She exhaled sharply through her nose, balled her fists, and turned around.

Zuko had told her he wanted her to convince Azula to testify, but he changed his mind after seeing how Azula reacted to him. Not even he had any faith in ditzy old Ty Lee. But how could he, after what she'd done? How could anyone trust her ever again?

Well, she was going to prove them all wrong. She was going to get Azula to testify whether Zuko liked it or not!

Still, she really hated it when Azula's taunts worked.

"Yes, stay a while. Even I know when to dance for dinner," Azula said playfully, mischief and madness gleaming in her dull amber eyes. Ty Lee steadied herself, trying to reclaim her composure. She was letting Azula get under her skin  _again_ , and she was not about to stand for it. "I can be such a good monkey if I want to be. Tie strings to my limbs and watch me dance."

"I've already told you, Azula. I don't have time for more than one game," Ty Lee stated firmly. She had to keep control of the situation, or else Azula would just mess with her until the cow hippos came home.

"Tsk. You're no fun," Azula said wistfully, glancing off to the side. "I miss the old Ty Lee."

"Too bad you've driven her away and you're stuck with me now, so you might as well make the most of it," Ty Lee replied huffily. "It's your turn."

"Very well, if that's how you want to play it," Azula said with a dramatic sigh. She placed one of her tiles at the edge of the table. "Be a dear and place that for me, will you? In that void right there."

Ty Lee looked at the tile all the way across the table. Was this another one of Azula's weird power plays?

"Place it yourself. I'm not your servant," Ty Lee said defiantly, raising her nose in the air. She smiled to herself as she watched Azula's jaw tighten. There were little things, here and there, that gave away Azula's poker face, and Ty Lee knew about most of them.

"I do wish you would place it for me. You used to like to do things for me. What happened?"

"Things change," Ty Lee said evenly.

"Yet they always manage to stay the same," Azula mused, eyes scanning the room, then the Pai Sho mat in front of her. "…I can't reach that far."

Ty Lee pushed the mat closer to Azula. "There."

Azula blinked and looked at Ty Lee for several moments. When Ty Lee's expression remained stony, she forced an odd smile.

"Fine," Azula said at last, a defiant sigh in her voice. She slowly lifted her hand and picked up the tile, then moved toward the center of the mat.

Her hand was shaking uncontrollably.

Ty Lee frowned as she watched Azula struggle to maintain the illusion of steadiness even as the rattling chains gave away the truth. The girl's brow was furrowed in concentration, her eyes boring holes into her hand, as if she were willing herself to keep still.

It wasn't working.

Azula had always been so graceful, poised, and composed. She moved like what everyone thought royalty should move like; effortlessly and effervescently.

And now she was struggling to place a wooden tile on a table right in front of her.

"Don't…stare," Azula said through gritted teeth. "It's un…becoming."

Finally, after several minutes that dragged on for an eternity, she placed the tile in the square she wanted.

In that moment, Ty Lee's anger and resentment gave away as her heart broke for the dark-haired princess.

"Don't look at me like that," Azula said quietly, her face lowered towards the floor. "…Don't look at me."

Ty Lee could feel the hot needles in her eyes as they began to water. She sniffled. She was about to lose it right then and there.

"Stop that," Azula growled, lifting her head up. "Don't you dare."

"I-I'm sorry," Ty Lee whimpered, the sobs bubbling up from her throat. "I-I d-didn't know."

"Stop that this instant," Azula continued, both hands gripping the arms of her chair. "Don't you dare shed a single tear for me or so help me—"

"CABBAGES!"

Azula whirled to face the bearded man and shot him the most withering glare Ty Lee had ever seen. He cowered before her instantaneously before backing away.

"S-so sorry, Princess. So, so s-sorry," he mumbled as he wandered off.

Azula exhaled loudly and turned to face Ty Lee once more.

"I hate cabbage," she deadpanned. Ty Lee chuckled through a sob.

"M-me too."

"Though I've forgotten what it tastes like. I think it might taste wonderful now after what I'm used to eating in here."

"…I could bring you some next time," Ty Lee offered quietly, wiping away the moisture in her eyes. "Or maybe a  _bao_  or something."

"I would prefer a confection," Azula remarked off-handedly. Ty Lee knew the Princess was not really one for sweets, aside from fruit, but always seemed to enjoy the occasional sugar cake. She made a mental note. "…But…there will be a next time?" Azula asked with the slightest hint of uncertainty. Most of the questions Azula asked had a kind of definitiveness to them, as if she already knew what the answer would be before one even said it. This was not one of those questions.

"Maybe," Ty Lee said casually, playing her tile. She had to ignore those strange feelings that churned in her chest and brain and stomach. Focus. Remember why she had come. "…If you tell me what I want to know."

"Interesting," Azula smiled as she leaned back to appraise Ty Lee once more. "But I thought you only had time for one game."

"This one's different," Ty Lee answered with her own smile. "This one we play by  _my_  rules."

"…I take it back. You are fun, after all," Azula said as she leaned forward to play her next tile, using one hand to keep the other steady as subtly as possible. "All right, then. I'll play your little game. It's only fair."

"First things first. Why won't you testify against Ozai?" Ty Lee asked, playing another tile but making sure to keep steady eye contact with the other girl. Very few people in the world could read Azula, if it was even truly possible, but if it was, Ty Lee would be one of them.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Azula replied, averting eye contact and playing her turn. "Because there are so many answers I don't know where to begin."

"Why don't you start from the top? That's as good a place as any."

"Clever girl. I like that."

"Thanks. Now answer the question."

"Look at you, all serious and business-like. Very well, since you insist, I'll answer. The first reason you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you, so I won't bother with that. The second reason is more obvious; you can't have a mental patient testifying at a trial. No court would allow it, no matter how many rabaroos are running it. In order to testify, I would need to be deemed reasonably sane first, and I can't see that happening anytime soon, can you?"

"Why not?"

"Do I seem sane to you?" Azula asked, her voice dropping into her lower register.

"Maybe. Maybe not to them, but they don't know you as well as I do," Ty Lee replied evenly, trying to remain unshaken by all of Azula's various manipulations.

"And how well do you know me, exactly?" the dark-haired girl asked, her tone slightly harsher than it had been so far.

"Enough to know that if you really wanted to, you would've been out of here ages ago. So why aren't you?"

"Oh, Ty Lee. Once again you seem to have overestimated me…and underestimated all the voices in my head. Would you like to have a word with them?"

"If I believed there were voices in your head, I would," Ty Lee answered simply with a bit of a smug smile. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Azula asked.

"If the shoe fits, wear it."

"A shame you're wearing both of them."

"I'm not a liar, if that's what you're implying," Ty Lee stated crossly, folding her arms across her chest. Azula smiled.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But you are a traitor, which means you're not to be trusted. So how can I believe anything you say? At least when I lie, I do it to your face…I don't slide knives into your back."

Ty Lee's eyes narrowed. Azula always did know how to pick at the right wounds.

"Who needs knives when you have a mouth like yours?"

"Oh, you haven't seen half the things my mouth can do."

Ty Lee froze, her bravado evaporating in an instant. She had really walked headfirst into that one. She could feel her skin growing warm again and her mouth go dry. The absolute last mental image she wanted to conjure up right now was anything having to do with herself and Azula's—

Grandfather. Old, naked, wrinkly grandfathers. Lo and Li in bikinis. Azula in a bikin—NO NO NO GO BACK.

"What's the matter?" Azula asked, a perplexed look on her face. Ty Lee couldn't tell if it was real or forced. "Cat got your tongue?"

Cat? More like an unagi…or, or a dragon or something equally dangerous. Or some sort of weird, furry, cat-dragon hybrid. Did those exist?

"N-no," Ty Lee managed at last, trying to shake it off. She had lost some serious footing there, and she had to either get it back or take the fall…and pray the safety net wasn't on fire. "Back to that…first thing you said about why you couldn't testify. You said there was a reason you wouldn't bother with. What is it?"

"I've already told you; you wouldn't understand it even if I explained it to you."

"Try me."

"Now is neither the time, nor the place for that," Azula said quietly before returning to a normal volume. "Is it my turn yet? I've already answered your questions."

"Huh?"

"That's how these games work, isn't it? You have a turn, then I have a turn. It's only fair," Azula said playfully, a mischievous glint in her yes.

Ty Lee pursed her lips. Azula had indeed answered her questions, yet managed to reveal absolutely nothing of pertinence. "Fine. Go right ahead."

"I have so many questions, you know. There's not much else you can do when you're locked away for so long with only your thoughts to keep you company," Azula said, smiling mysteriously. "Here's one. Why are you here?"

"I already told you. To see you," Ty Lee replied without skipping a beat. That wasn't so bad at all. "Now, about that reason—"

"Uh uh uh," Azula said in a sing-song voice, wagging one of her long, pale fingers. "Not so fast. You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? I want to know…Why are you  _really_  here?"

Ty Lee paused. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, no need to play coy with me," Azula said, her lips once again curling into a smile that managed to walk the line between innocent and devious. "I know you're not as simple as you'd like everyone to think you are. It makes everything so much easier, doesn't it? Everyone knows you're  _good_  at what you do…you might even be the best…but maybe, just maybe, if you play dumb every once in a while, they'll just keep on underestimating you…I made that mistake once. So maybe you're hoping I'll slip up and do it again."

"So, what? You think I have some sort of ult—alt—ulterior motive for being here?"

Of all the times for Ty Lee to stumble over remembering words. Curse those "uh" sounds.

"Why else would you be here?"

"Uh, maybe because I'm your friend and I care about you?" Ty Lee said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, because it was.

"Is that so? You're here because you care? Two long years and not a word…Two years I have sat here and rotted, waited, watched as the days crawled by and slipped through my fingers like so much dust. Two years and now here you are, out of the blue, grilling me for answers and dripping with sympathy. So don't tell me you're here to see me just because you _care_. With friends like you, who even needs enemies?" Azula said, her voice low and venomous, her eyes narrowed and focused on the acrobat across from her. Ty Lee frowned indignantly.

"Believe what you want, but I'm not your enemy, Azula. I never have been and I never will be."

"So you say. Well, you must understand…A person in my position can't help but worry…but who can really blame me? What with your history and all…" Azula trailed off, pretending to look off to the side, but Ty Lee could tell she was still watching her out of the corner of her eye.

The braided warrior knew that Azula was always watching, no matter where she seemed to look.

"What could I possibly have to gain from betra—" Ty Lee paused to correct herself. She was not about to use that ugly word now. "I mean, not being completely honest with you?"

"That's what  _I've_  always wondered," Azula said coldly. Ty Lee bristled at the remark. "What did you have to gain from your sudden but inevitable betrayal, hm? Did Zuko promise you a nice, cozy position in the Royal Palace that you threw away in order to toil as a faceless Kyoshi Warrior? Were you promised a circus that he simply couldn't deliver, so you decided to just surround yourself with painted clowns instead? Or were you just in love with him, but he chose Mai over you? Well? What was it? What could possibly make you throw everything away in order to choose  _him_  over  _me_?!" Azula hissed, her fingers digging into her chair, causing her chains to rattle loudly drawing the attention of everyone in the room. The nurse and the earthbenders suddenly became very alert, ready to spring into action in case anything got out of control.

"You…you think I'm in love with _Zuko_?!" Ty Lee balked, ignoring the attention they seemed to be getting from Azula's caretakers.

Azula looked around the room at their audience and seemed to pause, collecting herself. "It's not that big of a stretch, is it? Why else would you be here, so desperate to convince me to testify against my father so Zuko can continue playing Fire Lord and running my country into the ground? I know Zuko wants me to testify, I know he sent you here, and I know you're just dying to prove yourself; I can see it all in your eyes," Azula said contemptuously, her amber eyes momentarily alive with the burning fire they were renowned for. "But why, and to whom? It's obvious, isn't it? So go ahead. Love my foolish brother, like everyone else! Love him, for all I care!"

"You know something, Azula?" Ty Lee sneered, folding her arms across her chest. She was not about to sit here and get falsely accused of something utterly ridiculous. "You think you're just sooooooo good at reading people. Well, let  _me_  tell _you_  something. You're not! You don't know the first thing about me."

"You're right. I don't know anything about you, Ty Lee. I thought I did, once. That was my first mistake. But I guarantee you it'll be my last as far as you're concerned," Azula said, her voice dropping low. It normally sent chills down Ty Lee's spine when that happened, but now all Ty Lee could feel was the anger pulsing in her veins.

"What's  _that_  supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, and I don't think anyone else does, either. If I, for all my prodigious skill and talent, never saw it coming…who's to say anyone else will? And that's why you're here. You have something to prove, don't you? You're not just a traitor, you do have a sense of loyalty, you don't change allegiances so easily. But who are you trying to prove it to? The Kyoshi Warriors? Or is it yourself? Zuko?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I? I might be a monster and a liar and a psychopath…but at least I'm upfront about it. You, on the other hand…aren't you the little mystery? Sweet, innocent, loyal Ty Lee…she'd never betray you. She's so kind and obedient and full of nice things to say…and she's always smiling, even when she hangs you out to dry. So why don't you tell me about you, hm? Tell Azula who Ty Lee really is…Assuming she believes anything you have to say," Azula said liltingly, her voice rising high on some phrases and falling low on others, words weaving and curving in a serpentine manner.

Ty Lee always thought that if she could paint the way Azula spoke, it would look like a dragon soaring majestically through the sky.

Or a snake, slithering through the grass, looking for some hapless prey. She hadn't decided which one was more fitting.

"If you're not going to believe me, then why bother asking?"

"Isn't that the game?" Azula asked with mock innocence. "It's quite confusing, isn't it? Trying to find the grain of truth in a sack full of lies. That's the trouble when there's nothing but fools and knaves in your deck."

"All right, fine. I'll tell you, since you want to know, even though we both know you've already made up your mind about me," Ty Lee said as she slammed her palm onto the table. "Yeah, maybe I betrayed you because I'm in love with angsty old Zuko, who happens to be engaged to one of my closest friends! Maybe I'm here because I'm trying to get him to trust me so that I can steal him away and we can get married and have TONS of fat little babies! Or MAYBE, just MAYBE, I do care about you, you stupid idiot, and the only reason I betrayed you was to stop you from making one of the biggest mistakes of your life! Maybe I betrayed you to stop you from killing Mai, who is your only other friend, and one of my closest friends! Maybe I betrayed you because I saw what you were becoming and I was trying to save you from yourself! So yeah, I am a big, fat, TRAITOR and you know what? I'm not even sorry I did it! In fact, if I had the chance, I'd do it again! I'm not sorry I stopped you and I never will be! And even though I should HATE your guts for everything you've ever done to me, I AM sorry that you're in here, and it KILLS me to see you like this, whether or not you even believe me!"

Ty Lee knew she was yelling at this point, and she knew everyone was watching them, and she knew no one dared to ever scream at the former Fire Nation Princess before, but she didn't care. Azula was wrong about Ty Lee, and if the acrobat had to scream at her to get that through, then by golly she would do it.

Azula looked at Ty Lee blankly for a moment. Then she tossed her head back and laughed heartily.

"What is SO funny?" Ty Lee demanded, though it came out sounding more comical than she would have liked.

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing really. I'm afraid you've forced my hand is all," Azula said with a sigh as she placed another tile on the board. "I concede. You win this round, Ty Lee."

Ty Lee had forgotten they were even playing. She glanced down at the tiles on the Pai Sho board and, to her great surprise, she had indeed won the game.

"I won?" Ty Lee stammered, staring in disbelief. "I won! …But wait, that can't be right—"

"Yes, yes, congratulations, no need to rub salt in my wounds," Azula said hastily, cutting Ty Lee off. "It won't help against an infection. Not in here, at least."

The nurse got up from her seat and made her way over. "I apologize for cutting your meeting short, Miss Lee, but visiting hours are over," she said gently, gesturing to the empty room. Ty Lee hadn't even noticed that all the other patients had already left. "You may return again at another time."

"Oh, of course. Well, thank you for your help," Ty Lee said with a nod and a small bow. Azula was quietly staring at the Pai Sho board.

"Be sure to study the game, Ty Lee," Azula said in a playful voice, gesturing to the table in front of her. "We'll see if you can beat me again next time."

"If there is a next time," Ty Lee mumbled, slightly cross. Azula laughed as they began to wheel her away.

"Oh, I doubt there won't be."

Ty Lee sighed, knowing that the other girl was probably right. No matter what she did, even when she was thousands of miles away from her, she just couldn't seem to stay away from Azula. She looked down at the Pai Sho board, studying each tile carefully.

Wait a minute.

In the middle of the board, next to where Ty Lee had played her Rhododendron, Azula had placed a White Dragon, causing her to lose the game.

It was a rookie mistake, the kind that she was not used to seeing Azula make. Had the other girl taken a dive just to let Ty Lee win? And if so, why?

Ty Lee gingerly lifted up the White Dragon tile. A small scrap of paper had been placed underneath.

A single word had been impeccably printed onto the paper with the elegant calligraphy that Ty Lee knew belonged only to one person.

"Is something the matter, Miss Lee?" came a voice from behind the purple-clad acrobat. She nearly jumped from surprise.

"Dr. Yi! Um, no, I was just…cleaning up," Ty Lee said hastily, quickly stacking the tiles with both her hands. At the same time, she surreptitiously crumpled up the piece of paper and hid it between her fingers.

"Oh, no need to do that," the doctor said amiably, though she noticed his eyes lingering on the Pai Sho board. "Please, leave that to the orderlies. Now, if I may escort you out of here…we wouldn't want to lock you up in here all night now, would we?"

"Haha, no, of course not," Ty Lee chuckled, running her hand through her hair and tucking the scrap of paper out of sight and safely into her braid.

"Excellent, right this way," the doctor said as he led her to through the door and to the reception area, where two Earthbenders soldiers stood. "I trust you had a fruitful visit?"

"Oh, yes, very," Ty Lee said quickly, eager to get away from the doctor's prying eyes as quickly as possible. He nodded slowly.

"Of course, we're going to have to search you before you leave. Don't worry, it's standard procedure," the doctor said comfortingly, though it was anything but. The two Earthbender soldiers stepped forward, fortunately one was female. She pat down the acrobat, looking through her pockets and making sure she had not concealed anything within her clothing. Ty Lee prayed they would not check her hair or her pulse, quickly using a breathing technique to slow her pounding heart. Finally, the Earthbender nodded to both her partner and the doctor.

"She's clean," the Earthbender said, and Ty Lee breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Thank you. I will see you soon," Ty Lee said with a courteous bow to the doctor. She walked quickly to the door.

"Miss Lee," the doctor called, freezing Ty Lee in her tracks. Had she been spotted? Did she not tuck the paper well enough into her hair? She knew she should have swallowed it when she had the chance!

"Yes?" Ty Lee said as calmly as she could, turning around.

"You forgot your bag," he said, holding out her shopping bag with her uniform in it.

"Oh, right, of course. Silly me," Ty Lee laughed nervously, grabbing the bag. "Um, thank you. Bye."

"Farewell, Miss Lee," the doctor called as the brunette finally made her wait out of that claustrophobic building. She could feel his round eyes on her back the whole time. The doors closed behind her and she made her way to the bottom of the mountain before she breathed a big sigh of relief.

She looked around furtively, then pulled the piece of paper out of her hair. Even in the light of the setting sun, the word and the handwriting were unmistakable.

**_DANGER_ **


	6. The Doctor

The doctor watched as the young Kyoshi Warrior, whom he knew to be a close friend of Fire Lord Zuko, made her way out of his building. As soon as she was gone, he turned to his earthbenders.

"Search the visitation room, particularly the Pai Sho set. Make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary."

The earthbenders nodded, disappearing through the door into the other room. The doctor smiled to himself.

If only everyone could be so obedient. Speaking of which…

"Did you find anything of interest?" the doctor asked Hana, the receptionist. She nodded silently, and produced a crumpled latter stamped with the blazing emblem of the Fire Lord. The doctor took it gingerly and opened it, skimming over its contents.

"Oh my…how interesting indeed," the doctor said to himself, a smile spreading across his face. He tucked the scroll into his pocket for safekeeping. "You are dismissed."

Hana nodded and gathered her things, departing for the night. The doctor smiled. A leader was only as good as his subordinates, after all, and he had the very best.

Now it was time to put to use all the interesting things he'd learned today.

The doctor made his way downstairs, past the floors with the regular patients, past the fourth floor where that horrible waterbender now resided, and to the fifth floor, where his prize was kept in isolation.

He remembered the day he first met her, a little more than a year ago.

* * *

" _Right this way," Du Yi said, opening the door to his office for himself. He was excited, and reasonably so._

_Today was the first day with his newest patient, and one of the highest renown._

_It wasn't every day a doctor got to treat the princess of what used to be one of the world's most powerful nations. It wasn't anymore; the Earth Kingdom had seen to that._

_And good thing, too…for if it weren't for them, and all his friends in high places, he would not have had the opportunity to do what he was doing now._

_He sat at his desk and took out a roll of parchment and a brush, eager to begin. The soldiers wheeled in his patient, parking her right in front of his desk. They then positioned themselves at the back of the room, standing silently at attention._

_So this was the girl who once brought his nation's capital to its knees when no one else could. She did not look like much, but he knew looks could be deceiving._

_She did not look particularly intimidating, and her face was completely expressionless, except for her eyes. Her eyes were the color of the most precious coins, and looked just as valuable. They shone with a depth that the doctor had seldom seen, and as they glanced around his office, he could tell there was a certain spark to them._

_Aware, the doctor noted._

" _Hello, Azula," the doctor said slowly, as if he were speaking to a child. "I'm Dr. Yi."_

_He extended his hand to the girl, who made no motion to accept it. She looked at him with her eyes half-lidded, yet they still managed to send an unnatural chill down his spine, eliciting a reaction of both fear and awe. He could only imagine what she might have looked or acted like during better days, and he was certain that, had he not been a loyal citizen of the Earth Kingdom, he may very well have followed her gladly into battle._

_Or at least, he would have sent soldiers in on her behalf._

" _I'm going to be your doctor from now on," he continued, still speaking slowly. Du Yi knew that one had to speak slowly in cases such as these; otherwise one might not be understood. "I hope we will do great things together."_

_He waited a moment._

_Unresponsive, he noted._

" _Do…you…know…where…you…are…right…now?" he asked, a little louder and a little more slowly. Perhaps she could not hear him._

" _Yes," the girl said, suddenly. Her expression remained unchanged. "In…the…office…of…a…buffoon."_

_He crossed out unresponsive._

" _So you can hear me. I'm Dr. Yi, and I'm going to be your doctor from now on," the doctor said, willfully ignoring the girl's mockery._

" _I heard you the first time," the girl deadpanned, her face still stony. "I'm crazy, not_ _ **deaf**_ _."_

" _So you're aware of your mental condition then?" the doctor asked as he scribbled the note down, his interest piqued. It was rare to find one both mentally ill and self-aware._

_The girl rolled her eyes. "Do you always sound so fascinated with your patients?"_

_The doctor blinked. "I…wouldn't know."_

" _I see. Quite unprofessional of you, wouldn't you say?" the girl asked, though it sounded more like a statement. She looked at her nails with a casual yet fluid grace, in spite of the large manacles around her wrists. "It doesn't exactly lend a sense of confidence. Are you really the best the Earth Kingdom had to offer? How pitiful."_

_The doctor smiled as he took some more notes. He was well aware of the girl's infamously vitriolic tongue and had been thoroughly prepared against any sort of barb she was going to throw at him._

_It was his job, after all, and he was very, very good at his job._

" _Well, you must admit, you're a very fascinating young girl. It's not every day I get to meet the conqueror of Ba Sing Se."_

" _Oh?" Azula asked, raising one eyebrow. "And exactly what about me is fascinating?"_

_Flattery, the doctor noted gleefully. He knew he had to appeal to her ego. From what he'd read and heard, he had already diagnosed her as a textbook megalomaniac; he only needed her to confirm his hypothesis._

" _Well, everything. Your extraordinary accomplishments, your unique firebending talents, your impressive high marks in school…you have to admit, you are quite the exceptional individual," the doctor said with as warm a smile as he could muster as he flipped through his patient's considerable dossier. It had been assembled with quite a bit of help from his accomplices, some purposeful and some unwitting._

" _Exceptional," Azula repeated evenly. "So you think that I am superior to most individuals?"_

_The doctor nodded. "Why yes, of course."_

" _And if one is an_ _ **exceptional**_ _being, such as myself, does it not stand to reason that most individuals would seem inconsequential to one who is superior? As a subject is to its sovereign?"_

" _I would suppose so."_

_Excellent. All of this was only serving to prove his hypothesis._

" _Of course. So if superior beings find normal people inconsequential, then normal people find superior beings exceptional?"_

" _Well, undoubtedly. Superior beings are exceptional by their definition."_

" _Then you should know that flattery from you is nothing more than poetry from a dullard; empty words pouring out from a worthless individual. It'll get you nowhere," Azula said flatly, her face still stony and expressionless._

_The doctor narrowed his eyes, staring at his new patient for a moment, then smiled._

" _You think I'm worthless then?"_

" _By your own logic, yes. Do I really need to spell it out for you?"_

"… _By all means."_

_She sighed and rolled her eyes again. Though the gesture was small, it managed to make the doctor feel strangely insignificant. The feeling drummed up the revenants of horrible memories lodged in the base of his mind, which he pushed back down with little effort._

" _If normal people find superior beings exceptional, and if superior beings find normal people inconsequential, then superior beings would find other superior beings normal. Since you have made it clear you find me_ _ **exceptional**_ _, then you are by your own admission a normal being, and thus, inconsequential to me."_

"… _So you automatically assume that I am not exceptional?"_

" _No need to sound so_ _ **offended**_ _," Azula said with a feline smile. The doctor hated cats with a passion; they weren't loyal or obedient like dogs were. "You're the one who said it, not me."_

" _Well, if I understand correctly, you believe you are a superior being, and thus everyone else around you is automatically worthless, isn't that so?" the doctor reasoned out slowly. His patient seemed to respect logic, making it the best tool to use against her._

" _Oh, I never said that."_

_The doctor furrowed his brow, frowning slightly. "But you did. Just now."_

" _You seem to either lack understanding or a good memory. And judging by the notes you've been taking, I'm going to assume both," Azula commented, her eyes falling onto the doctor's roll of parchment. He hastily covered it with a book, and she continued. "I've done nothing but ask pointed questions and draw overly simplified conclusions from your answers. The only behavior that can be ascribed to me is one that you've already decided. Quite a pointless exercise, don't you think?"_

_The doctor's frown deepened. He looked at the girl, at the smug little smile on the corners of her lips and the piercing light of her eyes, and he exhaled sharply. Then he smiled._

_She really was good. Everything they said she'd be and perhaps more._

_This was going to be harder than he'd anticipated. Well, no matter. He knew how minds worked. He always got what he wanted in the end._

_Besides, he'd always been curious exactly what the limits of the human mind were._

" _If it's so pointless, why agree to partake in it at all?"_

" _I'm bored, and I enjoy intelligent conversation," Azula answered as-a-matter-of-factly, examining her nails once again. "And since there's none to be found, you'll just have to do for now."_

_The doctor smirked._

" _What makes you think I'm not intelligent?"_

" _What makes you think you are?"_

" _But at least you find our conversation amusing, then?"_

" _If by amusing you mean slightly less dull than staring at a wall, then yes."_

_The doctor sucked in his lower lip and took a deep, calming breath._

" _No need to lie to me, Azula…I know you find this all very entertaining. You can be honest with me, you know…I'm only here to help you," the doctor said gently, his eyebrows knit together in concern._

_That was, after all, how one conveyed sincerity, he had learned._

" _Is that so? I find that highly unlikely."_

" _And why is that?"_

" _Please. You and I both know the answer to that one."_

" _Enlighten me," the doctor cajoled. He had to keep her talking, because the more she talked, the more he would be able to uncover. And if keeping her talking meant playing dumb, then he was not afraid to do that, either._

_Azula's eyes narrowed as she silently looked the doctor up and down. The doctor remained unmoving, his reassuring smile frozen dutifully on his face. Finally, she spoke._

" _Are you pretending, or are you really just daft? If you want to pick apart everything little thing I say and analyze it in the hopes of finding some deeper meaning, you might want to be a little less obvious with all your questions."_

_The doctor maintained his smile, though he could feel the muscle in the corner of his mouth twitch involuntarily._

" _No need to be so hostile with me, Azula. I'm merely trying to get to the heart of the matter, so that I can understand what's wrong. And then, if you'll let me, I can help you. I've been trained in the mental health sciences by the very best at Ba Sing Se University."_

_The doctor gestured to his framed diploma sitting on the corner of his desk, in full view of anyone who entered the room. If his patient had noticed it, she made no indication of that._

" _Is that so? And what did they teach you at this grand university? To pick me apart and dissect every single one of my thoughts? Then what? Give everything you see a name, because if you name it, then maybe you can recognize it. If you can recognize it, then maybe you understand it. Oh yes, that's what they call 'science'. It helps you understand, isn't that right?" Azula questioned derisively, her lips still curled in the most infuriatingly small smile. "Understand it, so that you might control it. Well, that's just called human nature."_

_The doctor did not notice his own smile fade from his face._

" _So you don't believe that I can heal you?"_

" _I believe you think you can heal me. You think you can just crack open my brain, take out all the rotten bits and put me back together the way you want?" Azula asked lightly, a pleasant expression on her face as she leaned back in her chair, her head tilted slightly to one side._

" _If you're going to put it crudely…" he trailed off, taking the time to adjust his glasses._

" _And how has that method worked out for you so far? I presume you think you're quite effective judging by the way you carry yourself."_

_The doctor pursed his lips. He was used to evaluating others, not being evaluated himself. His patients were usually never in a condition conducive to analyzing others. "How do I carry myself?"_

" _Like you're something noteworthy, or impressive. You must have 'healed' quite a few people," Azula posited, still smiling condescendingly. The doctor gritted his teeth together, trying hard not to grind them._

" _I have healed many."_

" _Is that so? Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard the story about the Boy and the Dragon?"_

_This should be good._

" _No…why don't you tell it to me?" the doctor wheedled, though he got the impression that she would have told it regardless of how he responded._

" _It's an old Fire Nation fable. One of my favorites, actually. Once upon a time, back before the Great Dragon Hunts, there was a young boy. All his life he dreamed of catching a dragon…it's all he ever thought about. He was quite obsessed, you see. One day, while working in the field, he sees a dragon flying over his village, and he decides that this is the dragon he wants to catch. Now, this particular dragon was not a very nice dragon. This dragon was quite deadly and cunning, and like most dragons would use his fire to destroy things he saw as unworthy. So for years and years, the boy chases the dragon all across the country, trying to catch it, even as the dragon burns down homes and villages and other worthless things."_

"… _What happens then?"_

" _Well, here's where it gets interesting. There are many variations to the story, and all of them have different endings. But the general message remains the same. My favorite ending is when the boy finally, after decades of searching, manages to catch the dragon in a large trap. The boy is very ambitious, as you can probably tell, and he decides he wants to tame the dragon. So he fashions a muzzle for it, and he manages to ride it for some odd years."_

" _An impressive feat."_

" _You would think so. Well, eventually, the dragon and the boy get to know each other, so the dragon asks the boy, who is now an old man, if he can remove the muzzle. The boy trusts the dragon, even after he's seen the dragon destroy so many lives, because they've been together for years. He thinks the dragon has changed. But the boy isn't stupid, so he puts on a suit of armor and rubs poison all over it as the dragon watches, just in case. Then, he finally, carefully removes the dragon's muzzle. And do you know what the dragon did?"_

"… _No, tell me."_

" _He snapped the boy up in his jaws and swallowed him in one gulp, dooming them both," Azula answered simply, her eyes alight with a certain kind of vicious excitement._

"… _Why would he do that? He knew the armor was poisoned," the doctor asked, being in his nature to ask critical questions of likely false stories. If there were any weaknesses in any tales, one simply had to unearth them by asking the right questions._

_The same theory applied to people._

" _Because that, my dear 'doctor', is the moral of the story," Azula said mockingly, which again made the doctor feel strangely insecure. "Destruction is in the dragon's nature, as foolishness was in the boy's. You cannot change your nature, no matter what you do or how hard you try, much less that of someone else. It doesn't matter what happens to you because deep down, people are always the same. They were born to be a certain way, and they'll die a certain way."_

" _Why did the dragon not simply light the boy on fire?"_

" _Who knows? It's just a story," Azula shrugged carelessly, glancing off to the side. She looked back at the doctor and smiled. "The details aren't important, but the moral is."_

" _But perhaps the dragon ate the boy as a sign of respect, instead of simply killing him outright. And perhaps the dragon might not have eaten the boy at all had the boy not rubbed the poison on his armor. That showed a lack of trust on the boy's part," the doctor reasoned back. He knew she was going somewhere with this, that she had a point she was attempting to prove, and he had to impede her with logic before she reached it._

" _Well, we'll never know the true story now, will we? So it's no use trying to reason out all the possible outcomes," Azula said with another dismissive wave of the hand. Then she leaned forward, almost conspiratorially. "There is a saying in my country. 'Never chase a dragon.' The fable's original intent is just as a cautionary tale against fruitless endeavors. But I think it says so much more about human nature, wouldn't you agree?"_

" _That human nature cannot be changed, or that humans desire to exert their control over things that cannot be controlled?"_

" _I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Azula asked, crossing her legs. Though she sat chained to a wheeled chair, she still managed to look as if she were perched upon a throne._

" _I'm not the one that needs their mental health rehabilitated."_

" _Funny. I was just about to say that," Azula said lightly, glancing upwards._

" _Are you implying that I belong in a mental institution?"_

" _Isn't that what you've been implying all this time? I think you're the one that's confused, 'doctor'," Azula said with mock pity, resting her chin on one of her hands._

" _I am a doctor."_

" _Oh, are you getting mad? How intriguing. I thought you were taught by the very best. Surely they didn't tell you to get snippy when your patients don't dance the way you want them to. And if they did, then I truly have no faith in the Earth Kingdom's education system."_

" _I'm not mad," the doctor said quietly, his voice low and as even as he could make it._

" _Well, neither am I, but no one believes me, either. I suppose we have that in common," his patient said wistfully, though he could no longer tell if it was fake or genuine._

" _Do you truly believe that you are completely sane?"_

" _Does it even matter what I say when you're just going to interpret it any way you want? Besides, I think you've already forgotten what you wrote down on your notepad when we first started talking."_

_With a single, elegant digit, his patient indicated the corner of the scroll peeking out from under one of his books. The doctor removed the book and glanced down at his notes. Mental self-awareness, it read._

" _And you wonder why I call you a 'doctor'," Azula said with a dramatic sigh._

" _You're just talking in circles now."_

" _Aren't you supposed to be the one controlling this conversation? I don't think you're quite cut out for this occupation."_

" _Do you feel in control right now?"_

" _Do you?"_

" _Stop answering my questions with questions."_

" _Maybe if you stopped asking stupid questions, I would."_

" _Why don't we try a different exercise? This is clearly going nowhere," the doctor said firmly, removing his glasses and polishing them before replacing them on his face. "How about an exchange? I present a topic, and you talk about it truthfully for as long as you feel like. Then I will comment truthfully on a topic you present. Does that sound appealing?"_

"… _Well, that depends. What do you want me to talk about?"_

" _Control. You obviously have issues with it. So tell me about them," the doctor said abruptly, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. He was going to get to the heart of the matter, no matter how hard she tried to derail him._

" _I don't think I'm the one with control issues in the room, but suit yourself," Azula said with a small shrug. "Control. Power. Fear. All three are inextricably linked."_

"… _Is that what your father taught you?"_

"… _My father?" Azula's expression suddenly went dark, causing the doctor to smile. Now that was the reaction he had been searching for. "Is that what this is all about?"_

" _I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" the doctor said with a small smile, parroting the girl's earlier remarks._

"…"  _Azula looked down at the ground, then resumed speaking quietly. "My father used to beat me, you know."_

_The doctor perked up and leaned in closer. Finally, they were getting somewhere._

" _I don't think I ever saw him happy unless he was picking on someone smaller and weaker than him. The one time I did…I believe it was when we went to the circus. I was only six at the time…and we saw these acrobats, soaring and flying through the air…Father was so pleased, it was the first time I'd ever seen him smile without shedding a drop of blood…" Azula breathed dreamily, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "That was when I decided I wanted to be an acrobat. So when I was thirteen, I ran away from home to go join the circus…but I was caught in the middle of this horrible storm, and then I was frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years, only to be found by a brother and sister of the Northern Water Tribe—"_

_The doctor frowned suddenly. "That's…how much of that story is true?"_

" _Oh, none of it. Or all of it. Or maybe just some of it. What do you think? It's your job to decipher the truth, isn't it?" Azula queried with a wicked grin. There was not a single trace of teardrops anywhere on her face._

_She was faking it. He had wondered exactly how much of it had been a ruse, meant to make him look like a fool._

" _You know, this doesn't work unless you tell me the truth. I won't tell you the truth about me unless you do, first."_

" _Did you not like that story? What a shame…Well, how about this one? I was born on a small farm in the southern regions of the Earth Kingdom. I was one of several children, as is often the case in poor families, but unlike most of my siblings, I wasn't a bender. But that didn't matter to me, because I was cleverer than most and it meant I didn't have to be sent off to war when I got older. So while almost all my brothers and sisters went off to train their Earthbending, volunteering themselves for an early grave, I found myself gravitating towards Ba Sing Se University. I'm not physically strong by any means, and I'm quite a bit of a coward as well, so I was glad to not be directly involved in the war, especially not after I watched my own farm destroyed by the Fire Nation's Imperial Army. Now, I don't have much of a mind for numbers, so I couldn't study a real science like most other academics. I'm smart, but not that smart, and more conniving than actually intelligent. I'm not actually interested in helping people, otherwise I would be a_ _ **real**_ _doctor. But I might even be considered a genius if I were to rise to the top of a relatively new field. So I decided to study the mind, because what's more powerful than a human mind?"_

"… _Stop it," the doctor said quietly through clenched teeth._

" _I found out that the human mind is a very miraculous thing…and one that is not very easily understood. However, it can be controlled, given enough time and with the proper techniques…because you see, I've never actually been interested in academic pursuits. No, I like power, and power is control. How am I doing so far?"_

"… _I said, stop it. Now."_

" _Oh, but I haven't even gotten to the interesting part yet. About how I think what I'm doing, while it could be considered unethical by many, is ultimately for the good of us all. Because I genuinely believe that if everyone were just the way I wanted them to be, the world would be a better place…still, I have to wonder, how_ _ **is**_ _my sister doing?"_

_The venom in her voice sank deep into the doctor, drudging up his long repressed memories of his unresponsive sister, lying in the hospital bed, eyes open and glossy. He could feel the memory and the anger and the sadness pulsing through his veins and pounding in his ears, until he just couldn't stand it any longer._

" _SHUT UP," the doctor roared, slamming his hand into his desk, banishing the memory back deep down where it belonged. He breathed deeply for a moment, removing his glasses and collecting himself. He cleared his throat. "That's…that's quite enough out of you."_

" _Oh, so I was right about the sister? Thank you for the confirmation."_

" _Lucky guess," the doctor hissed._

" _Oh, trust me. Luck has nothing to do with it whenever I'm concerned," Azula said with that same, damned smile, the one the doctor wanted to do nothing more with than wipe off her face. "It was either a sister or a lover, and judging by your unfortunate, badgery looks…well, process of elimination, I suppose."_

" _How," the doctor started quietly, replacing his glasses on his face. "How did you know all that?"_

" _Doesn't your handy little dossier tell you? Or did your associate fail to include that embarrassing little detail?"_

" _Not even you can tell all that just by looking into my eyes."_

" _Please. That's just an expression, 'doctor'. It's simple observation; no different than anything you do. You are supposedly one of the best doctors trained in mental health to come out of Ba Sing Se University. Judging by your age and that nice little diploma you've displayed so prominently on your desk, you've been a 'doctor' for quite some time, and must have had many patients in order to achieve that kind of renown. Of course, anyone who's ever really been to Ba Sing Se would know more than a little bit about its sordid history with the Dai Li…or did you forget how I managed to orchestrate your city's downfall in the first place? You have no compassion in your eyes, as was evident when you failed to hold the door open for me and the guards, despite the fact that it made it extremely inconvenient for us to enter. Moreover, I sense utter disdain coming from you when you mentioned my father, so I suspect you must have lost something important to you during the war._

_"The southern regions of the Earth Kingdom are closest to my nation, so it's likely that your home was attacked and since neither you nor anyone who was left on the farm could bend nor fight, you lost both of your parents. As for how I knew you were poor and grew up on a farm, you seem to have left a bit of your lunch on your robe in your haste to attend our little meeting. If I'm not mistaken, that's an eggplant and tofu dish, common among the southern regions, but only among the poorer families who can't afford meats. I can also smell the garlic on you, which you might want to consider doing something about. And even though you're probably doing quite well for yourself with all this esteem and recognition, you still sport an old pair of glasses that's been polished about a hundred too many times. You don't keep them because you particularly like them, or else you would not have taken the finish off so carelessly, but because they still work and you're thrifty, a result of your meager upbringing. Old habits die hard, don't they? A poor family from the southern region likely farms, and because of the nature of farms, you probably had many siblings._

_"You're obviously not a bender not only from your posture and gait, but also because you had the time to get yourself an education while the war was going on…but how you paid for that education, now that's interesting…I presume someone close to you, your sister perhaps, who also was not a bender, must have helped you pay for it somehow…and since you were able to afford an education at the illustrious Ba Sing Se University, it's clear that none of your other siblings pursued academia, thus they probably fought in the war, thus they were probably benders, which explains why you seem to have a bit of an inferiority complex. So you have a grudge against the Fire Nation, an unhealthy obsession with your sister who helped you afford the tuition at Ba Sing Se University, and you feel the need to lord your above average intellect over others, particularly if they're gifted in the bending arts. Does that sound about right?"_

"…"  _The doctor didn't respond._

" _Yes, that's what I thought. So you see doctor, your little game is pointless with me because I have no need to know anything you, whereas you want to know everything about me. And, to make matters worse, I just proved that no matter what you do, no matter what your name is or what you change it to be, how far you think you've come or how many patients you 'heal' or how many degrees you earn or how much money you make…underneath it all, you're still just a poor little farm boy who misses his mommy and daddy. Truly a tragedy for yourself and your profession, wouldn't you say?"_

_The doctor pursed his lips and exhaled sharply through his nose. He looked at the two earthbender guards and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. As soon as the door closed, he removed his glasses and set them on his desk._

" _Do you want to know what I think, Azula?" he asked, steepling his fingers together as he leaned forward on his elbows._

" _Not really, but I get the feeling you're going to tell me anyway."_

" _I think you're a wicked, vile little piece of trash who desperately needs to be put in her place," the doctor hissed, all pretense of civility dropped and long forgotten._

" _Ah, here we go. The muzzle's off and the dragon shows its true self at last," Azula gloated, leaning backwards in her chair, a smug smile fixed firmly on her face. "That didn't take very much at all."_

" _Laugh all you want," the doctor said casually, a cruel smile rising to his own lips. "You won't be laughing when I'm through with you."_

" _Is that supposed to be a threat? I'm shaking. Really."_

" _Don't push me, you little snake. I've done things the likes of which you've never dreamed of."_

" _Like what? Brainwashing an army of women to look and talk and behave like your sister? I have to say, that was a rather brilliant plan, but lacking in execution…Surely you didn't think that people would fail to notice every single tour guide in the city possessed the exact same name and mannerisms? Remind me, which one of us is the egotist again?"_

_The doctor smiled, ignoring the girl's further barbs. She really was impressive, and far too impressive for him to continue the kindly doctor charade he thought he'd mastered after all these years._

" _Do you know what I believe, after all my experiences in this profession? You said that I thought power was control. Well, that's only half right. What power is…what it really boils down to…is the amount of pain you can inflict on another human being," the doctor said with a cruel smile. He licked the front of his teeth, tasting a bit of eggplant. "It is that truth that leads me to believe that all minds are alike in more ways than they are different. You may have greater intelligence than most, but I bet you still respond to pain the same way as anyone else."_

" _So you're going to torture me. Is that all? I thought a learned man like yourself would have more interesting methods of procuring what he wants."_

" _Oh, but I'm not going to torture you. Not physically, at least. I doubt someone of your background would yield to such crude methods. No, I'm going to hit you where you're most vulnerable; your mind," the doctor said with his own wicked grin as he carefully replaced his glasses on his nose. "You see, I believe that every single person, no matter how depraved, cares about at least one other person other than themselves. That single bit of empathy, no matter how small, is what makes us human. It separates us from the monsters and the dragons. And you know what else? Those people, the ones that we care about…are the keys to all of our hopes, our dreams, our doubts, and our fears. So all I have to do is worm my way into that little skull of yours and find that one person…or two, or three…and not even you will be able to keep up your defenses."_

" _I'm afraid you've miscalculated, 'doctor'. I am very much a monster."_

" _You don't say…but we all know you're quite the little liar. So why don't you tell me about your relationship with Zuko?"_

" _Zu-Zu?" Azula asked, raising one eyebrow as she dropped her chin slightly. She laughed. "Oh please. Your arrogance is showing once again. Just because_ _ **your**_ _sister somehow manages to care for you doesn't mean all sisters do."_

" _You say one thing, but that pet name you have for him says something else."_

" _Oh yes, I forgot, I call him that because I love him so," Azula deadpanned, rolling her eyes once more. "Come now, 'doctor'. You've already shown me your hand. Do you honestly believe you're going to get anything out of me at this point? If so you're more delusional than I originally thought."_

" _Well, I wanted to give you one last chance to behave civilly before I turned to more…coercive methods. But now I see that was just a waste of time," the doctor said calmly, reassembling the dossier and slipping his notes inside as well. "All right, then. Have it your way. It's such a shame though…I really wanted the two of us to get along. I didn't want it to have to be this way."_

" _Now who's the liar, 'doctor'?"_

_The doctor smiled again. She was certainly right about that._

* * *

Even after a year of treatment, the doctor had made hardly any progress at all with his most stubborn patient. He'd learned a few interesting things about her and her resilience, but in terms of reshaping her in the image he desired, he was nowhere close. The farthest he had gotten in changing her normal behaviors were the long strings of poetic nonsense she would mutter to herself when she thought he wasn't watching, which he always was. It was a sign that his treatments were starting to take a toll on her mental stability and sanity, but it wasn't quite the progress he had hoped for at this point.

But today, that would change.

Today, he'd finally found his trump card.

"Hello, Azula," the doctor said cheerfully, entering the dark room. He and his patients had been spending quite a bit of time there lately. Azula sat silently, strapped to her chair. "How are you doing today?"

She glared at him with her dull eyes, but did not respond.

"Have nothing to say today, do you? But you're always so chatty otherwise," the doctor mocked, the devilish smile now on his lips instead of hers. He sat in the chair opposite her and crossed his legs. "You think you'd be in better spirits. After all, you've had visitors two days in a row. That's quite unusual for you."

Silence.

"Yes, and such interesting visitors indeed," the doctor continued, pulling out a brand new dossier he'd just compiled this morning. He leaned forward in his chair and smiled. "So why don't you tell me about Ty Lee?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, the plot thickens. Whoever said the doctor was no good was right on the money. For anyone who caught it, this chapter is an homage to the Joker from B:TAS, whom as we all know is Mark Hamill, who also plays Ozai.
> 
> This chapter was the hardest to write so far (I really dislike the doctor), but it's got a lot of important plot points that will surface later. Next up; a chapter from Azula's POV…sort of. You'll see.
> 
> Someone asked me who I enjoy writing for most, and it's pretty difficult to choose. I haven't written much from Zuko's POV yet, but he's got a couple of meatier chapters coming up so we'll see how that goes. Mai is difficult to write, because she's so blasé about everything and she definitely observes more than she feels, and descriptions are the bane of my existence. I prefer writing dialogue and Azula is great fun to write dialogue for, but I find it really hard to get into her actual headspace (by that I mean, I know how I want her to think and feel, I'm just not 100% sure how I want her to think about the way she thinks and feels). Ty Lee is probably the easiest and most fun, because she's mostly normal, but also kind of weird and goofy and goes off on runaway tangents a lot. So Ty Lee wins.
> 
> If I were to write for someone else though, Toph is my second favorite character (behind Azula) so I'd love to write for her, but sadly she doesn't quite fit in this story.


	7. The Cake

Ty Lee fell face-first onto her bed and stayed there, motionless. She let out a long groan and reached blindly for one of her pillows. She rolled onto her back, held the pillow against her face tightly, and screamed for as loud and as long as she could.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFF!"

When she was finished, she dropped both her arms to her side and took several deep, calming breaths, not bothering to remove the pillow from her face.

It had been a particularly eventful and tumultuous day, especially when compared to her days back on Kyoshi Island, but even compared to the past two.

Despite her early departure from the facility, she had managed to arrive late for her afternoon shift. Thankfully, she showed up just in time to relieve a panicked General An (who seemed even more nervous whenever Ty Lee was around) from duty before Zuko discovered anything amiss. Zuko said he trusted her, though she didn't really believe him, but even so, she didn't want to betray that trust…even though she technically already was by visiting Azula against his wishes in the first place.

At first it had been to prove herself to him, but now…now she had no idea why she kept going back.

Well, she did, but at the same time, she didn't. Which was really, really confusing, and it hurt her head just thinking about it, so she didn't want to think about it, but she kept thinking about it anyway, but she wasn't really thinking about it actively, but it was still there in the back of her mind, and she knew she would have to think about it eventually, otherwise she would just keep thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it and think—

Ty Lee took a deep breath through her pillow and exhaled.

It felt warm on her face.

Just like Azula's breath earlier today.

* * *

_Ty Lee walked up the steps to the facility, package secured tightly in her hands. Despite all the horrible remarks Azula directed at her yesterday and the day before, Ty Lee was returning to visit her again today._

_And she was even bringing her a gift, too._

_What a poor sap she was._

_What was wrong with her? She had asked that question over and over again for years, and never had a good answer. She had even less of an answer now, especially since Azula had practically chewed up Ty Lee and spit her out yesterday, like some bored cat toying with a handicapped mouse._

_Ty Lee could hear the sneering voice of the Princess in the back of her mind. "Poor little mousey, so scared and confused. Life would be so much easier if you didn't insist on visiting the feral cat you abandoned over two years ago. Just because she's caged and has her claws clipped doesn't mean she can't hurt you."_

_Ty Lee sighed. Imaginary Azula (or Mind-Azula as she liked to call her), despite being an incredibly condescending figment of her imagination, was right. So why in the world was she even contemplating going back?_

_She knew the answer to that, at least._

_The image of that single word elegantly scripted on a tiny scrap of paper was burned into her mind. Danger. What did it mean? Who's in danger? And from what?_

_Somehow, Ty Lee knew it wasn't ghosts. She kind of wished it were, though. She'd even choreographed an exorcism dance in her head._

_But performing a simple dance would have been easier and far preferable than dealing with whatever danger currently lurked within the walls of the mental facility, which Ty Lee was certain existed._

_Even if her lead had come from a crazy person._

" _Ah, Miss Lee. So glad to see the Royal Inquisitor back again today," Du Yi greeted her with his same smile, which Ty Lee was convinced might have been carved out of stone and glued to his face. His eyes dropped from hers and into her hands. "For me? You shouldn't have."_

" _Oh, uh," Ty Lee stammered, looking down at the small, round package in her hands. "It's actually for Azula…"_

" _Really?" the doctor asked, his eyebrow raised slightly._

" _Is that allowed?"_

" _Of course. It's just that no one ever brings her anything, is all…but you must understand that we do have certain rules pertaining to packages for our patients," the doctor said, turning to the two earthbender guards guarding the doorway behind him. They nodded and came forward, grabbing the package out of Ty Lee's hands._

" _H-hey!" Ty Lee protested as the guards unwrapped the package and began prodding at its contents with a thin, two-pronged metal stick._

" _It's just standard procedure, Miss Lee. You'll get it back…so long as we don't find anything wrong with it," the doctor said comfortingly, but she found zero comfort in his words. The earthbenders nodded to the doctor and handed the package to him. He looked at it for a second and dismissed the two with another nod. He wrapped the package back up and handed it back to Ty Lee with a smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's still perfectly edible."_

_Ty Lee forced a half-hearted smile and took the package back, holding it more carefully than before and hoping it wasn't totally ruined._

" _Unfortunately, you should know that Azula acted out this morning, so I had to confine her to her cell for today. I'm afraid she won't be allowed to go to the visitation or common rooms, since that would be reinforcing her bad behavior," the doctor explained, pushing his glasses back up his nose. He sounded like a condescending schoolteacher for small children, which irked Ty Lee even more than the mistreatment of her cake._

" _Acted out? How? What did she do?" Ty Lee asked, since Azula had never really been one to brazenly "act out" against authority. At least not when she could get caught…or was in danger of suffering any consequences._

" _She just had a minor fit; it's nothing to worry about, but we don't like to encourage it," the doctor said with a smile. Ty Lee was getting quite sick of it at this point._

" _Well, can I see her in her cell then?"_

" _Of course, but I'm afraid she hasn't been doing so well since this morning, so don't be too alarmed by her unresponsiveness."_

"… _That's fine." She wasn't sure she wanted to hear much from Azula today, anyway, if yesterday was any indication of what their interactions would be like from now on._

" _Very well. Right this way, please."_

_Ty Lee nodded and followed the doctor down flight after flight of winding stairs. He looked back at her occasionally, still smiling his smile._

" _So, Ty Lee, is it? May I call you that?"_

" _Um…sure…of course…"_

" _You're originally from the Fire Nation, aren't you?"_

" _Uh-huh…"_

" _Yes, Lee is a very common name in the Fire Nation. If I'm not mistaken, you're one of the Capital City Lees, isn't that right?"_

" _Yeah, that's right."_

" _Ah, so medicine runs in your family! I'm envious. I wish I had such a background in mine!" the doctor said, laughing heartily at his own joke…was it a joke? Ty Lee frowned._

" _How did you know?"_

" _That your parents were doctors? The Lees are quite famous in the medical world… Your grandmother practically revolutionized the use of moxibustion and fire cupping for firebenders. And I read your grandfather's essay on acupuncture and the use of pressure points to heal the body and mind. Fascinating material."_

" _Yeah, I guess," Ty Lee murmured, images of the countless days she spent in the care of her grandparents bubbling to the surface of her mind. She remembered sitting in her grandfather's lap, learning to read from a textbook on the flow of chi and its medical importance. She remembered getting into trouble for coloring on her grandmother's various acupuncture charts and diagrams of the human body. She remembered learning to play Pai Sho from her grandfather, who favored his White Lotus tile but always seemed to lose at the last second._

_She remembered him taking her aside, after treating a minor burn she had received when she got too close to one of Azula's and Zuko's sparring sessions, and speaking to her with concerned eyes and a serious tone. After that incident, he would take every chance he got to teach her all the cool things that he knew, like the various pressure points in the body and how to use them to heal, how to use them to hurt._

" _These techniques are ancient and powerful. You may use them save someone's life one day," her grandfather would say every time they trained, stroking his long white beard. "They may even save yours."_

_Ty Lee smiled sadly to herself at the memory. She missed him…_

" _Anyway, you're wrong. My mother is a doctor, my father is just an administrator," Ty Lee said, the word administrator sounding harsher than she had intended. She remembered all the fights her father had with her grandfather; about how disappointed he was his only son was not a doctor as he and his father and his father's father had been, about how he hoped he was at least raising one of his seven daughters to go into medicine, particularly since some of them, especially Ty Lee, possessed what he referred to as "the gift"._

_She once asked him what "the gift" was. He smiled and chuckled mysteriously and stroked his beard, as he often did. Then he leaned down to look at her in the eyes and said, "A good heart…and steady hands!"_

" _Oh, not anymore. Your mother stopped practicing medicine a few years ago…around the same time your father stepped down as medical administrator. You didn't know?"_

" _What?"_

_A few years ago…?_

_No, it couldn't be._

" _Oh, yes. About three or four years ago. It's such a shame they both retired so young…such brilliant minds gone to waste. I'm surprised you didn't know about it…"_

_Ty Lee frowned. She couldn't believe they both retired so young, when she remembered them being so single-mindedly focused on their careers, even after popping out six identical daughters…surely they would not have stopped because of their runaway one? …Could they have?_

_And here she was, wandering around her hometown going_ _**shopping** _ _and visiting mental facilities, without the decency to even stop by her old home and see what was going on._

_A good heart…yeah, right._

"… _Miss Lee? Are you all right? You've gotten quiet all of a sudden."_

_Ty Lee looked up and saw the doctor eyeing her closely. His words sounded concern, but his eyes looked…odd. They looked almost as if he were just brimming with barely contained enthusiasm._

_Ty Lee did not like this greasy little Earth Kingdom doctor one bit. And speaking of which…_

"… _How did you know?"_

"… _I'm sorry?"_

" _How did you know that both my parents retired four years ago? You've only been here for two," Ty Lee asked, trying to make her voice sound as unassuming as possible. Ty Lee had met many doctors before, but this one was not like most of them. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but there was a sickliness to his aura and a distinct lack of warmth in his eyes that made Ty Lee's skin crawl. Perhaps she was fearing the worst simply because of Azula's cryptic speech and hidden messages, but safe was better than sorry…especially if he was a mind-doctor accustomed to probing people's deepest thoughts and secrets._

" _Ah, well…news travels quickly in our little community…especially when such prominent figures such as your parents retire at such a young age and with little reason. You wouldn't happen to know why they retired, do you?" the doctor asked probingly._

"… _Haven't got a clue," Ty Lee lied. If what the doctor said was true, then this was all her fault…like so many things._

" _Really? But you're their daughter. Do you not talk to one another?" the doctor asked, his voice feigning surprise._

_Ty Lee smiled her biggest smile. "Nope! Not at all!" she exclaimed, as cheerfully as possible._

_Inside, she was falling apart. Azula was right about her. She_ _**was** _ _a liar, but not with words._

" _I see. Why not?"_

" _Some folks just don't like to talk I guess!" Ty Lee said with a big smile and a nod. "Hey, what's this floor for? It feels really dry in here."_

_It was so easy, pretending to be airheaded, pretending not to care._

_For Ty Lee, it had always been easy. Easier than feeling sad or guilty, at any rate._

" _Ah, yes…well, we specialize in treating benders of all kinds here. As you can imagine, benders whose minds are…unwell…can pose quite a danger to themselves and others. The upper floors are for the patients who don't require as much maintenance, but these lower floors…well, we have a saying. The lower the floor, the higher the risk. Earthbenders are a special case; they're kept on the second floor of the facility in the metal rooms, away from the ground. The last few floors were all firebenders. This floor we just passed is for waterbenders, which is why it was so dry."_

"… _And the bottom floor?"_

_The doctor smiled as he unlocked the heavy iron door to the bottom floor with a large key. She had only seen him use that one, so she assumed it was probably the master copy. The two earthbender guards stationed at the door (there had been at least two stationed at every door on every floor, Ty Lee noted) unbolted it and slid it open. "We only have one patient on this floor. Can you guess who?"_

" _Is she really that dangerous?" Ty Lee shivered, her breath visible in the chilled air. She looked around the stone hallway, noticing the large metal vents that were pumping in a constant stream of cold air. She tucked her package into her robes and wrapped her arms tightly around herself for warmth._

"… _I think you know the answer to that question firsthand, don't you, Ty Lee?"_

"… _No, I don't," Ty Lee lied again._

" _Well, let's just say she doesn't really play well with others," the doctor said with another small smile. He took the same key out and unlocked the metal door to a room situated in the middle of the hallway. Ty Lee looked down the hallway and noticed that it continued for quite a bit longer than it should have, possibly to leave room for future expansions._

_That was a rather dim outlook on the future of the world's mental state, Ty Lee thought grimly to herself._

" _Here we are," he said as he slowly pushed the door open. The room was dimly lit by a couple of electric bulbs installed in the relatively low ceiling. The whole interior was padded with white cushions, and was bare except for a single cot pushed against the left wall. The bed was neatly made, and it looked as if it came with built-in leather restraints meant for strapping a patient down while they slept._

" _Oh, don't worry, they say it's much more comfortable than it looks," the doctor said with a smile, noticing where Ty Lee's gaze fell. She shook her head and felt slightly sick to her stomach at the sound of the doctor's voice._

_Now was not really the time to be thinking about Azula tied down to a bed._

_Speaking of which…_

_Azula was sitting on the floor of the cell, facing the door with her back against the far wall. She was slouching slightly and had one leg extended and the other bent at the knee, on top of which she casually draped one of her arms. The other hand was in her lap, tapping out a steady beat against her chains. She looked almost as if she had been expecting them, if it weren't for her vacant stare directed at the ground._

" _Azula, you have a visitor. Do you know who she is?" the doctor asked, again as if he were speaking to a small child. Azula made no motion to acknowledge their presence, continuing to stare at the ground and tap rhythmically._

" _Do you see what I mean about her being unresponsive?" the doctor said with a dramatic sigh. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Call if you need anything."_

_With that the doctor left and closed the door behind him, but she could still see him through the bars of a small rectangular window in the door. He seemed to be lingering expectantly. Ty Lee cleared her throat._

" _Oh, I'm sorry Miss Lee, I forgot to explain…I can't leave the two of you unsupervised in her cell. Just pretend I'm not here at all," he said with another sickening smile. Ty Lee bit her lip and nodded, turning back to face Azula._

" _Azula? It's me again."_

_Azula's golden eyes lifted off the ground and met her own. Ty Lee felt her breath catch slightly in her throat. She cleared it and continued._

" _I brought you something," she said, walking over and sitting down on the floor next to Azula. The padded floor was surprisingly comfortable. She drew the package from within her robe and carefully unwrapped it in her lap, but frowned suddenly at the sight before her. To her great dismay, what was once a moist, spongey white cake had been thoroughly perforated and was now hardening and falling apart, bits of it already making a mad dash for freedom toward the ground. The smiley-face she'd drawn on it with a bit of red frosting was also smeared and barely recognizable._

_Stupid earthbender guards and their stupid search policies._

" _Oh…well…it's a little hole-y now but it probably still tastes good!" Ty Lee said with a smile. "Do you want some?"_

_Azula blinked, but said nothing._

"… _I'll take that as a yes," Ty Lee continued. She broke off a corner of the cake and handed it to Azula, who looked at it with suspicious, narrowed eyes. "There's nothing in it, I promise…well, except for sugar…and milk…and rice flour. It's not like the one we gave to old Mr. Jae!"_

_The corner of Azula's mouth twitched slightly. She looked at Ty Lee appraisingly for a moment, then back to the cake sitting in Ty Lee's open palm. She gingerly picked it up between her index and thumb, examining it closely. She squeezed it once, and, determining that it was safe for consumption, brought it to her mouth and delicately bit off a tiny piece of it. Ty Lee smiled._

" _Not too bad, huh? I made it myself!" Ty Lee beamed proudly, taking a large bite of her own piece. "I put more sugar in it because they're normally so bland, and I think it makes a big difference."_

_Azula chewed slowly and carefully._

" _I've been learning how to cook on the Island. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it! I mean, at first I thought you just needed to throw everything in the pot and cook it all at once, but that was kind of a disaster, and really really messy…and no one wanted seconds…but then the others started teaching me, and now I can make noodles and rice and veggies and tofu and burned stuff…"_

" _It's too sweet," Azula muttered quietly, her voice slightly strained, glancing off to the side. Ty Lee's face fell._

" _Oh…"she mumbled as she looked at the no-longer-smiley cake sitting sadly in her lap._

_She had worked so hard to make the cake herself, for reasons she herself couldn't explain, and brought it all the way here, only to have it destroyed by nosy guards, and to top it all off, the person she made it for didn't even_ _**like** _ _it?_

_What had she been thinking? What was she even expecting? Did she really believe a small gesture of kindness would be enough to put her back in Azula's good graces? Why did she even want to be in Azula's good graces anyway? Azula was a jerk who couldn't even appreciate a stupid cake, even though she'd probably eaten nothing but gruel for two years! Ty Lee was only trying to be nice, the very least Azula could do was not be a COMPLETELY TERRIBLE human being about it, and she couldn't even manage that?_

" _Well if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it!" Ty Lee huffed, turning to glare at the girl next to her, who was still eating the cake for some reason. "If you hate it so much, why are you still eating it?"_

"…"  _Azula paused and turned her head to look at Ty Lee. She exhaled sharply through her nose and rolled her eyes before turning away and defiantly eating the last bit of cake in her hand. Ty Lee stared at Azula, baffled as the other girl dusted her hands off and glared right back at her, all while chewing slowly and deliberately._

" _WHY ARE YOU SO WEIRD?" Ty Lee squawked as she got to her feet, holding the cake firmly in her hand. "You know, I made it just for you, you could at least be like, 'Why thank you Ty Lee for this kind gesture and I appreciate your friendship' and I'd be all like, 'You're welcome Azula, I'm so happy you like it because I spent all night learning the recipe and all morning getting ingredients and cooking this thing but it's no big deal because hey, we're friends, aren't we' but you_ _ **can't**_ _, can you, because you never appreciate anything that anyone ever does for you EVER!"_

_It probably wasn't the best idea to yell at a mental patient, but Ty Lee was way too furiously bewildered to even think right now._

"… _Is everything all right in there, Ty Lee?" the doctor's strangely excited voice came through from behind the door._

"… _Everything's fine. I was just leaving," Ty Lee grumbled as she picked up the discarded pieces of paper and hastily re-wrapping the remains of the crumbling cake._

" _Wait," Azula said firmly, though her voice was still low and strange-sounding._

" _What do you want? To insult me some more? Because I'm not going to stick around for that this time!"_

" _No," Azula replied, giving Ty Lee one of her patented 'I'm being serious now' looks. "Need to tell you something."_

_Ty Lee crumpled the paper slightly in her hands and inhaled deeply. "Fine. What is it?"_

" _Closer," Azula said quietly. Ty Lee exhaled sharply and stepped closer to the sitting girl. "Closer, Ty Lee."_

_Ty Lee rolled her eyes and took another step. "I've told you before; I don't bite," Azula said, a slight hint of mischief in her strained voice. Ty Lee frowned and shook her head. Was she pulling the same trick as yesterday? Because it wasn't going to work this time!_

_Whatever, she just had to get this over with already. She took another step, until she was almost standing on top of Azula._

_Then, without even the slightest warning, Azula reached up with lightning-quick speed and grabbed Ty Lee by the front of her shirt. In one smooth motion, she pulled her downward, roughly mashing their lips together._

_Ty Lee's eyes went wide. The rest of her froze from the top of her head to the tips of her toes._

_She…was…Azula…was…Huh? WHAT?_

_WAIT WHAT IS HAPPENING—Is that tongue?_

_Her mind involuntarily emptied itself of all thoughts, save for ones about the soft, warm, slightly sweet mouth currently pressed against hers and the tongue that just slipped past her lower lip. Chills ran down her spine while flames simultaneously burned in her cheeks and stomach. She couldn't tell if she was freezing up or burning out. In fact, she couldn't tell much of anything at all right now. She hardly noticed as she dropped the cake she held, or when Azula's hand discreetly slipped into one of her pockets, or when the guards roughly dragged Ty Lee away while struggling to restrain the uncooperative princess._

" _LET GO OF ME, YOU FILTHY PEASANTS! DON'T TOUCH ME! I'VE DONE NOTHING! MY CAKE IS ON THE FLOOR! YOU'VE RUINED IT! YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!" Azula shrieked as she struggled wildly against the bigger, stronger earthbenders. She grabbed one of them and threw him into the other just as an alarm began to blare loudly, making everything all the more chaotic. Ty Lee watched in stunned silence as Azula took down another two guards, almost as easily as if she weren't wearing restraints at all, just as a wave of reinforcements arrived in the room. Her screaming gave way to fits of hysterical laughter, even as she fought against her captors. At last they managed to pin her to the ground and shove a wad of what Ty Lee presumed was a calming medication into her mouth. One of them clapped his hand over her mouth while the other pinched her nose and tilted her head back, forcing her to swallow. The medication took its toll almost immediately as Azula's head drooped and her body fell limp._

" _Take her to solitary confinement," Dr. Yi commanded, having appeared in the doorway without Ty Lee noticing. Ty Lee watched as the guards dragged Azula's limp body down the hallway and out of sight. "I'm so sorry about that, Ty Lee. She must be having another fit. We thought they had all passed, but I suppose one can never be sure about these things. Are you all right?"_

_Ty Lee nodded, silently._

" _Are you sure?"_

_Ty Lee nodded again. "Mm-hmm," she mumbled quietly._

_The doctor looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Thank goodness our alarm system kicked in to alert the guards on all the other floors. State-of-the-art you know," the doctor said, his voice and face beaming with pride. "I apologize for all of this, truly. I can't help but think it's somehow my fault."_

_When Ty Lee said nothing to comfort or reassure him, he continued. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it at all? You seem very upset."_

_Ty Lee shook her head. The doctor looked at her again, then smiled._

" _Very well then. Nurse Jiao will show you out."_

_Ty Lee followed the familiar-looking nurse out quietly, still in a complete daze. She reached the exit with the other guards, stopping to allow them to perform their routine searches._

" _What's this?"_

_Ty Lee looked up. The guard was holding a Pai Sho tile in his hands. It was a Red Lily._

" _We found it in your pocket."_

"… _S'Mine," Ty Lee lied, suddenly remembering the feeling of Azula's hand in her pocket._

_The guard looked at Ty Lee skeptically for a moment, then examined the tile closely. He shrugged and handed it back to her._

" _Have a good day, miss."_

" _Bye," Ty Lee mumbled, grabbing the tile and quickly making her way out of the building._

_She had to get away from there as far as possible and as quickly as possible, which proved quite difficult, since her whole body was shaking. At last, she reached the safety of the carriage and climbed inside. She checked every window, making sure no one had followed her and no one was watching._

_She put her hand up to her lips, which were still haunted by the phantom touch of Azula's own. The ghost of a shiver went down her spine, followed by an undeniable but not unfamiliar warmth._

_Ty Lee steadied herself and carefully extracted the strange object Azula had managed to slip into her mouth and place under her tongue with a surprising amount of precision._

_Maybe now Ty Lee_ _**had** _ _seen half the things Azula's mouth could do._

_She shook her mind free of certain unsettling thoughts and looked at the smuggled item in her hands. It was a vial, Ty Lee noticed. A tiny glass vial, which likely once held pills, with a bit of cloth stuffed in the top. It looked like it had been sealed with melted wax._

_Ty Lee hurriedly broke the seal and pulled out the damp bit of cloth. Inside the bottle was a small scroll of paper, which she quickly unfurled. On the front of the paper were a bunch of numbers arranged into a grid, which Ty Lee deduced was a schedule of some sort. Today's date had been written neatly at the top of the paper, and it was circled multiple times._

_On the back of the paper was a tiny but precisely drawn map, with arrows pointing to a room labeled "Solitary"._

* * *

Ty Lee groaned and removed the pillow from her face. She sat up in her bed, cross-legged, and took out several items from her pocket: the small glass bottle, the tiny map, the scrap of paper with "danger" written on it, and the Red Lily Pai Sho tile.

What did it all mean? She was clearly sending her a message, but about what? And why? And was Azula even sane enough to know what she was doing? Or was she just messing with her?

Because not only did she have all these random trinkets from a crazy person, but said crazy person had… _kissed_  her.

She had kissed her.

She. Azula. Kissed her. Ty Lee.

Ty Lee buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to think about it she didn't want to think about it she didn't want to think about it if you just ignore it it'll go away so just ignore it and pretend like it's not real so it'll go away just like a ghost so maybe it's time to do an exorcism dance or maybe there's a dance to get rid of all these horrible, terrible, awful  _feelings_  that kept making her head hurt and her chest feel like it was just going to EXPLODE and—

Breathe, Ty Lee. Breathe.

She had to think about it. There was no other choice. She was going to go insane if she kept stopping herself from thinking these thoughts and feeling these feelings.

No more running, Ty Lee. It's time to face your fears.

Too bad she didn't even know where to begin. She wasn't even sure when these feelings and thoughts first started, though she had a rough idea. They had terrified her at first, to the point where she had to run away from them…only to have them catch up to her not even a whole year later.

Then their conquests in the Earth Nation happened. And for a while, everything seemed like it would be fine. But then Zuko came back and left again, leaving another mess in his wake.

And then…there was that thing at Boiling Rock.

Ever since the incident at the Boiling Rock, Ty Lee had been actively trying not to think about Azula…and failing miserably at it.

Ty Lee thought back to that fateful day and remembered how angry Mai looked, how bitter Azula sounded, how everything seemed to happen all at once, but all in slow motion. Even now, after all this time, Ty Lee could play back every moment of that day in her mind.

She remembered the glint of sunlight reflecting off the stiletto in Mai's hand, and the overwhelming blackness surging in Azula's crimson red aura.

She watched as her own fists moved of their own accord. She watched herself, for the first time in her life, striking Azula.

She didn't remember making the decision to do so. It had happened before she really even thought about it.

She watched as Azula, arms paralyzed, fell to the ground uncharacteristically, gracelessly. She remembered running as fast as she could, running to grab Mai, running away for dear life, not daring to look back.

She remembered being apprehended and forced to face her worst fear.

She remembered how angry Azula had looked. She had never seen her that angry before in her life.

But most of all, she remembered seeing a glimmer of something in Azula's eyes, in her voice and in her face, that she had always seen before, that she always knew had been there, only not so prominently.

Pain. Hurt. Resentment.

In that moment, Ty Lee had seen it all; everything that Azula had always kept so closely guarded, hidden behind wall after wall of insurmountable emotional defenses.

It might have been arrogant to think this, but Ty Lee knew that the second she turned on Azula, the second her fists came into contact with Azula's back and arms, Azula had been hurt more by that simple act of betrayal than she had been hurt by anything else in a long, long time. Ty Lee could just see it in her eyes.

It was the last time she would ever see those eyes, Ty Lee had thought in the moment. She had once run away from Azula, but she never thought she wouldn't see her again. But now, after having done the unthinkable, that thought became a reality. And she felt her heart break, weighed down by that realization, by the guilt and by the shame.

Betrayal. That ugly little word.

She had betrayed Azula, who, for all her flaws, was the one person in the world Ty Lee most admired. She admired her for her confidence, her brilliance, her resilience, her competence, her competitiveness, her resourcefulness, her skill, her strength, her beauty. She admired the way she walked into a room, effortlessly drawing all attention to her. She admired the way she talked, with her silver tongue, lilting voice, expansive vocabulary, and lightning-fast wit. She admired the way she commanded, how she almost always managed to stay eerily calm under pressure, how she demanded nothing less than perfection from those around her, because she herself was perfect.

Azula wanted you to think she was perfect, so most people did. But perfection was a lie, Ty Lee had discovered. It was an ugly, dirty, stinking, rotten, no-good pants-on-fire lie.

Azula was mean. She was sadistic and controlling. She was manipulative and cruel, cold and ruthless, distant and apathetic. She couldn't even eat a stupid cake without insulting it. And the closer Ty Lee tried to get to her, the harder Azula would push her away. But the farther away Ty Lee tried to run, the tighter Azula would pull her leash. She had once set Ty Lee's safety net on fire and loosed a bunch of wild animals into the arena, just to coerce her into joining her on a quest, for crying out loud!

Though to be fair, Azula  _had_  asked nicely at first…it was only when Ty Lee said no that she resorted to drastic measures. No one in their right mind would really say no to the Princess of the Fire Nation, after all…

Ty Lee sighed. Here she was again, thinking about all the horrible things Azula had done to her, then making excuses for them. She couldn't help herself from doing that, likely because for every horrible thing Azula did to Ty Lee, she seemed to do something uncharacteristically kind to balance it out. The gestures were always small, like giving her flowers, apologizing profusely for hurting her feelings, buying her clothes, or remembering her birthday…but from Azula, these things were monumental, because she never bought flowers for anyone, never apologized for anything, never troubled herself with trivial things like shopping. As for remembering her birthday, Azula remembered everything about everyone, but compared to Ty Lee's own parents, who always forgot her name and failed to celebrate her birthday on the right year, it was astounding.

Azula had always treated Ty Lee well compared to how she treated most other people, and Ty Lee had always been somewhat aware of this. But only now, after having the full brunt of two years' worth of pent-up aggression directed at her by Azula's caustic tongue both yesterday and the day before, did Ty Lee truly appreciate the extent of her special treatment.

But even though nearly every word out of Azula's mouth (aside from the nonsense) had been designed to attack Ty Lee where she was most vulnerable, Ty Lee could still catch glimpses of all the cracks in Azula's cold façade. The cracks were small and the glimpses brief, but to Ty Lee, there were as visible as they had ever been.

It was these small cracks, these insecurities that only Ty Lee could see, that caused her to feel so…oddly and so strongly for the other girl in the first place.

Perfection was a lie, Ty Lee told herself over and over again. But if perfection existed, Ty Lee knew that Azula was the closest thing to it.

And she'd  _kissed_  her.

And it felt  _nice_. Bottle under the tongue and all.

Even though she probably only did it to smuggle out a message. But what did the message even mean? And why did she have to  _kiss_  her? Seriously, of all the other methods of smuggling something out of a practically impenetrable fortress, she had to choose  _that_  one? Was she  _trying_  to drive Ty Lee insane? Or worse, did she know Ty Lee's secret, and was merely exploiting it for her own sick personal amusement? Against anyone else, she certainly wouldn't have put such an act of cruelty past Azula, but she was Ty Lee. Azula was almost never  _that_  mean to Ty Lee.

Well, at least not before the incident…

Ugh.

Ty Lee fell onto her back again and replaced the pillow on her face. She knew one thing for certain; Azula definitely wanted her to return to the facility tonight, otherwise she wouldn't have drawn a convenient little map to Solitary Confinement.

But the real questions remained – should she even go? What was Azula up to? What was the danger? Was Ty Lee in danger? Was Azula in danger? Did she have to go rescue Azula? But what about Ty Lee's feelings and her sanity, which might also be in grave danger? And what about the Pai Sho tile? A Red Lily? What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Ty Lee couldn't think about this anymore. At least, not by herself. She had to talk to someone.

And since the smartest person Ty Lee knew was crazy and locked away and also what the conversation would be about…she would need to go to the second smartest person she knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple of things – Fire cupping or "baguan" is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that uses heated cups to suction out bad vapors from the body. I figured the Fire Nation would likely have pioneered this and moxibustion (which is a similar technique that involves burning moxa and pressing it into a pressure point) as their primary medical techniques. It's actually shown during one episode, but by an Earth Kingdom doctor. My grandparents used to do both of these things, so that's where I got the idea from.
> 
> Since chi-blocking is an "ancient technique cloaked in secrets" that's been stated as not exclusive to Ty Lee, she probably had to learn it from somewhere.
> 
> I assume the sugar cakes of which Ty Lee speaks in the series are the white sugar cakes which are very popular in my native land of Hong Kong. They're steamed, not baked, so they harden quickly when exposed to air.
> 
> Anyway, here's a slightly fluffier chapter to help break up the darkness of the past two. Hope you liked it, please continue to R/R!
> 
> Next up is a really short but funny Mai chapter, then a big meaty Zuko chapter that I'm really excited about.


	8. The Dragon

Azula was lucid.

Or rather, she was lucid enough.

It was a rarity these days, but not for reasons that one might expect. It was certainly not because of her so-called "insanity"; no, she had managed to overcome  _that_  (for the most part) by herself over the course of the year before last, thanks to her mental acuity (it was tremendous) and willpower (it was incredible), with zero thanks to all the "experts" they'd brought in to help her.

Indeed, a year was a long time for most people to spend alone with nothing but the company of their thoughts. But for Azula, who was not most people, it was so much more. She'd always been a thinker, and a particularly fast one at that. She could think about something in ten different ways with the time it took most people to think about it in just one way, and that one way was usually woefully incorrect. Thus a year, spent with nothing but her thoughts, was probably akin to a simpleton's lifelong thought-repertoire. Or at least, she assumed that was the case, because how can one truly measure the thoughts of a giant against those of an ant?

Such was the burden of being a prodigy.

Perhaps that was why it had taken so long to process all the information. She had mulled everything, literally everything, over and over again in her head for a year, and some of it simply hadn't made logical sense. But that was the tricky thing about logic; everything that wasn't, was illogical. And no amount of reasoning in the world could explain an illogical occurrence.

Azula had always considered herself to be logical, rational individual. But she did not always act logically or rationally, for reasons she herself could not explain. And since Azula's mind was far and away superior compared to those of most beings, they had a much greater tendency than her to act illogically or irrationally. Azula considered herself to be a people person, meaning that she understood people well and often used it to her advantage. But there were certain things that people would do that she could simply not explain or ration out, no matter how hard she thought about it.

She ascribed all of these irregularities, all of these conundrums, enigmas, and perplexities to one category, simply labeled: Love.

She understood what love was, but at the same time, she did not understand what it was.

Yet another paradox.

She knew its definition and she could usually recognize it when she saw it (for example, she knew her mother loved Zuko and that her uncle had loved Lu Ten) but she did not really know what it looked like, what it smelled like, what it felt like, what it tasted like. She knew that it was a motivator for some people, and that, like most objects in the world, it could be used against someone when applied with the proper amount of leverage. She knew that some types of it could be considered false, and she knew that some types of it could be considered true, and the true types were far and away rarer than the false ones.

Azula held many things in the universe to be true. The first was that the universe, much like her mind, was expansive but had a tendency towards chaos and irrationality, and that strict order had to be enacted in order to prevent this from happening.

The second was that not all things were created equal. Some were just better, and she was living proof of that.

The third was that life was not fair; a result of the irrational universe. She was living proof of that, as well.

The fourth was that water was wet, fire was hot, earth, though it could be broken down, was solid, and that air was all around us, except in the water. All of this had something to do with balance, and all balance had something to do with the Spirit World, which operated on a slightly different set of rules than the physical world.

The fifth, and the most important in terms of Azula's understanding of people, was that all living creatures act in their own self-interest. Self-preservation was a survival skill required of any creature that lived on this earth. Not even an ant would march willingly into a fire.

And yet, a human would.

This was the great mystery of the world, life, and the universe.

For all her intellect, for all her cleverness, for all her physical and mental superiority, Azula could not comprehend it. It was illogical. It made no sense.

Why would someone willingly risk their entire life for someone else?

Mai (Glum-Glum) had done it for Zuko (Dum-Dum). Iroh had done it for Zuko. Zuko had done it for that water tribe peasant. Her mother had done it for Zuko…The Avatar had been doing it for lifetimes for the entire world. And it was highly improbable that the Avatar, save for maybe the very first one, at any given moment in time, even  _knew_  a tenth of the people he was often running off and dying for.

Azula couldn't think of anyone she would do that for. Perhaps her father, once upon a time, had he ordered it (though arguably it was always implied), but only when she was younger and more easily manipulated.

She might have gotten hurt for someone else, a certain someone who continued to haunt a corner of Azula's mind all by herself, but that was also a long time ago, before a certain betrayal. And she certainly would not have  _died_  for her. That would be like a human giving up her life to protect a kitten; a superior being sacrificing her superior life for an inferior one.

And, to Azula's knowledge, a person  _had_  once upon a time given up his life to save a kitten. She had once read a factual account of a man who had leapt into the middle of the road to shield the useless little furball and, in doing so, took the full impact of a runaway cabbage cart. He died instantaneously, and the kitten simply got up and walked away.

To her knowledge, the kitten never made any remuneration to the man's grieved family for their loss.

That only made everything all the more strange and inexplicable.

Though, Azula reasoned, if one was stupid enough to risk one's life for that of a small feline's, then one deserved to die.

Still, it was this brand of irrationality that had been the bane of Azula's existence for the past two years. She could not wrap her mind around it, which only made it all the more frustrating, considering how many things she  _could_  wrap her mind around.

An ant was an inferior creature to a human. A regular human was to Azula as an ant is to a human. But ants cannot comprehend love, and thus they do not march willingly into a fire. A human can comprehend love, and might march willingly into a fire. Azula could not comprehend love, and would never march willingly into a fire because that would be stupid.

Unless she could firebend the flames, but that was beside the point.

And, to make matters worse, Azula did not know of anyone who would risk their lives for her.

There had been many who had done so during the war, but that was because the only other alternative was certain death by her hand, as opposed to a probable death by other circumstances.

That was a rational choice, one which Azula highly approved of.

But, if the threat of lightning were not there, would anyone willingly risk their own life to save hers?

Azula knew the answer to that, which only served to frustrate her further. Here were all these people falling over themselves to die for her vastly inferior brother, and yet she had no one?

If she died right now, would anyone even care? Isn't caring what usually happens when one dies?

She thought of one person in particular who might, the same individual who, no matter how hard Azula tried to evict her, remained embedded deep within Azula's considerable thinking grounds. She thought of that individual's big, doe-like eyes, her bright smile, her indomitable optimism, her unbreakable will, her soft brown hair which smelled of fire lilies after a summer rain…even after two long years, she still looked and smelled the same as Azula remembered. She had visited her today and yesterday, though today had proven infinitely more diverting, but Azula was not sure if it was in a good way or a bad way. She was never very sure of anything when it came to the topic of  _her_ , which was another source of constant vexation. The very thought of her was enough to send Azula's mind reeling for hours, and no matter which way she attempted to approach it, dissect it, and attempt to understand it or deny it, she never managed to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions.

Azula did not like to think of such things, since they imparted her with a feeling of utter impotence, which in turn left her irritable, exasperated, and displeased…but she did not have much choice. Her mind had a tendency to meander its thoughts these days, and she'd already thought about the sun and the stars and the earth and the moon and the tides, as well as spirits, time, war, life, hair, eyes, flowers, stones, birds, cats, and the mating rituals platypus-bears, to name a few.

Enough. Now was not the time to think about such things, inconsequential or not (she hadn't quite decided that yet). She was lucid for the first time in a while, and she knew it would not last. She would have to make the most of it.

For you see, lucidity was no longer an issue of her sanity. It was an issue of a rigid schedule enforced onto her over the course of the past year, one which she had no control over.

Azula despised it when she lacked control. Being in control (and controlling others) was one of the things she had been best at, after all, and, along with her natural born talent, part of what made her such a deadly firebender.

And losing control was what caused her momentary lapse into psychosis in the first place.

But that was all in the past. She was (mostly) sane and completely shackled now, and had been for two years, and no matter what her idiot of a brother said, had very little control over what happened to her. That fur-toad of a doctor had seen to that.

Every day, from eight hours and twenty-four minutes in the morning until four hours and forty-eight minutes at night, Azula was poisoned.

How ironic that only after her month-long paranoia had died down did someone actually slip poison into her food.

She had not realized it at first, probably because of all the wood-sloth extract in her tea and her underestimating the extent of the doctor's malice and underhandedness, which was a truly foolish mistake on her part. But all you had to do was ingest the poison once, and it was inside you, muffling your brain and dulling your senses, suffocating you with an unwanted euphoria.

She would lie catatonic for hours, too tired to move, too hazy to think, and too impotent to do anything about it. And then when it began to wear off, her body would rage against her mind, begging, screaming, sweating, and shaking uncontrollably until she gave in and fed it more of the vile white concoction.

She spent most of her day inundated in a sea of mind-altering drugs. Right now, instead of drowning like she usually was, she was merely floating.

Not  _quite_  lucid, but close enough.

But even now, she could feel the pain of withdrawal begin to prick at her. It felt like a hunger that started in your skin, seeped into your blood, and wrapped itself around your head.

Oh, how she loathed it, more than anything else she had ever loathed before.

She had tried to starve herself after learning the secret of her  _jook_ , since it was the only way to avoid being placed under the drug's horrible power. They had strapped her down then and force-fed her through a tube, which had been a thousand times more humiliating and painful than if she had just ingested the food regularly.

If only Zuko had been decent enough to kill her that day, she thought.

But no. She was not about to let some filthy peasant doctor break her. She was not going to let him win, and she had been doing a fairly good job of it, so far.

The drugs were only part of the doctor's regimen. They were to keep her weak and powerless while he continued, and failed, to learn exactly what it was that made Azula tick.

Just as a giant can never hope to understand the thoughts of an ant, so an ant could never hope to understand the thoughts of a giant.

The doctor was clever in his methods and techniques, what with the drugs and the games and the room with the spinning lights, but Azula was cleverer. She feigned madness, delirium, and catatonia. She spoke plainly and in riddles, to everyone and to no one, especially when she knew the doctor was watching (though he did not know that she knew he was). She weaved elaborate lies and tales, sprinkling in truths and half-truths that would take decades for even the most brilliant individual to pick out. You had to include some nuggets of truth, after all, just to keep them guessing. It frustrated the doctor to no end, which was one of the small consolation prizes in all of this.

She had to take her victories where she could get them, these days.

But the longer Azula kept up with her charade, the harder it was to distinguish the truth. She played her part so well that sometimes it was hard to tell where the line between fake madness and real madness began and ended, especially when she was under the merciless influence of the doctor's poison. And now, to make matters worse, he had discovered the glaring weakness in all her carefully constructed defenses. She was running out of time, in more ways than one, and now was certainly not the moment to wax poetic about it. There was work to be done, and she only had until the start of the morning shift at seven to do it.

First, she had to escape her bed, to which she was tied down every night. It would have been a bit of overkill for any normal patient who already had shackles on their hands and legs, but for her, this was probably a smart decision on the doctor's part.

Not quite smart enough, however.

With well-practiced precision, the former Princess of the Fire Nation deftly slid out the small piece of wire she hid under her right cuff. It used to be a hairpin that belonged to one of the nurses, but Azula was fortunate and quick enough to pilfer it when no one was looking. Years of watching Mai sullenly practice sleight-of-hand tricks enabled Azula to master the technique more quickly than she would have normally.

Well, at least her so-called friendship with Mai was good for  _something_.

She worked swiftly to undo the restraints on her arms, then her legs. She knew she only had so much time to do this delicate work before the withdrawal-induced shaking set in. Thankfully, it only took her a matter of moments, due to all the practice she had doing it over the last year.

Once she was free of the leather restraints, she made her way over to the padded wall and pulled off one of the cushions. She had worked meticulously to make the cushion removable, but still look untouched to the untrained eye. Behind the cushion was a stone wall with a very small chink in it, blocked by a rock that was only slightly bigger than her fist.

She removed the rock carefully, exposing a small compartment of the various goods Azula had managed to hoard during her time here. There was a wooden toothpick, a small scrap of paper from Min's journal, a tiny glass pill bottle, a scrap of cloth, the Pai Sho tile she had palmed during her game earlier today (the guards had been so busy screaming and examining her first hand that had moved that they completely failed to notice when her second hand slid the tile under her cuffs…misdirection was such a wonderful trick), and a small candle. To others, it would look like an assortment of junk, but to Azula, they were glittering keys.

She would get to those in a little while. For now, she had to send a message.

She reached into the hole in the wall, careful not to get her manacles caught on any uneven surfaces, until her hand came into contact with a slick, rounded metal surface. Carefully, with her middle finger extended, she tapped on the pipe.

A-R-E Y-O-U T-H-E-R-E

She waited.

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

She smiled.

T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W N-I-G-H-T A-W-A-I-T M-Y S-I-G-N-A-L

She waited.

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Y-E-S

Azula nodded.

S-P-R-E-A-D T-H-E W-O-R-D

With that she retracted her hand, careful not to make any noise with her chains. Now, it was time to work on her second message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know the phrase "chasing the dragon" is Chinese slang for drug usage? Specifically opium, but I'm going to stress that the drug Azula's been poisoned with is fictional.
> 
> This is probably my favorite chapter so far, and I hope you all liked it, too. A brief but revealing look into Azula's slightly damaged psyche. This is Azula. This is Azula on drugs. Don't worry too much about that, though; she has a plan. She always does. Just wait and see! And no, she's not actually a super genius with 10x the processing speed of a normal human…she just kind of thinks she is in comparison with most people (It's more like, 2-3x, max). By now it should be apparent that what each character thinks, observes, and says is not necessarily the truth.
> 
> And yes, Azula's character development will be slow, but it is coming, I promise. These first few chapters are just establishing my version of her while trying to stay true to the series.
> 
> If anyone is curious as to how exactly she "got over" her "insanity" (I believe it was more of a psychotic break than anything else), I may or may not write a companion ficlet at the end of this story. Mostly humor, and a little sad. We'll see how things go. Next up; more Ty Lee and some Mai.


	9. The Talk

Mai watched as Ty Lee reached the end of the black and red carpet. She stopped, sighed, turned around, and made her way back.

For the thirty-eighth time.

"Okay, so…how do I put this," Ty Lee mumbled as she turned around and started her thirty-ninth journey.

"Can you just spit it out already? You're starting to give me a headache," Mai drawled as she folded her arms and leaned against the post of her large canopy bed, genuinely exhausted from watching her friend walk the same twenty paces over and over again. Mai admittedly had more patience for Ty Lee than she had for most people, but not by much.

And she had very little patience with most people.

"Okay…okay….okay!" Ty Lee exclaimed, as if enlightenment had suddenly struck her. Mai perked up slightly. "…Not okay."

Mai sighed and leaned back once more, fighting her natural inclination towards annoyance. Ty Lee had burst into her room a little while ago, visibly distraught and saying that she needed to speak with Mai urgently. But now that they were here, it seemed her friend had lost the ability to articulate her every thought and feeling. Ty Lee was seldom unable express herself appropriately, whether it was by words, drawings, or the occasional interpretive dance, but whenever she did, Mai knew there was only one thing it could be about.

Or to be more precise, only one person.

"Um…okay, so…I have this…friend," Ty Lee said at last, though her movement failed to cease. Any longer and Mai was certain the carpet would have had a grooved path worn down its middle. "And this friend has always liked…fruit tarts."

"…Uh huh?" Mai asked slowly. Ty Lee had taken so long to get started, Mai figured she might as well humor the poor girl until she finished.

Besides, this was bound to be more entertaining than the meeting she was supposed to be attending right now, anyway.

"And I—I mean, my friend…also likes…sweet sugar cakes."

Uh oh.

"…Go on," Mai coaxed flatly, against her better judgment.

"And my friend has always known that she likes both fruit tarts AND sugar cakes."

Not  _this_  conversation.

"…It's not that uncommon."

"Right. Well…so…what if—my friend—has never actually  _tried_  sugar cakes, but she's thought about them, and in theory, she thinks she would like them if she ever did try them?"

Mai sighed. Perhaps she should have gone to that meeting after all.

"Maybe your friend should just shut up and try a sweet sugar cake then."

Mai had never been one to mince words, and maybe if she hurried this along, she could skip all the awkwardness this conversation was bound to bring.

"Um…yeah, okay, but…what if…there's actually just this one sweet sugar cake…but like, it's not actually all that sweet…and um…actually it's kind of cold…and mean…and no one really likes it that much because it's kind of an acquired taste…but like, she knows that people might like it if they just gave it a chance…but no one really wants to give it a chance because they're afraid they'll get…a tummy ache…so the sugar cake is just kind of like, sitting at the bottom of a garbage can because no one wants it…except for me—my friend…and mind you, she's never tried sugar cakes before, whereas she's had lots of boring fruit tarts, not that there's anything wrong with liking boring fruit tarts…but like, this is all kind of new to her, but she really, really thinks that even though she knows she might get a really, really bad tummy ache...this sugar cake could be like…the one…sugar cake...to make her stop…eating desserts altogether…because so many sweets…aren't really good for her…teeth?"

Mai blinked.

No such luck, it seemed.

"…Okay…Does your friend actually like sugar cakes, or is she just bored of fruit tarts because she's had too many?"

It was a reasonable question; Ty Lee had always been a fickle consumer of "fruit tarts", often leaving behind a trail of broken hearts wherever she went. She was cute and funny, and unlike her two other closest friends, extremely personable. It was hardly a surprise that she almost always had a gaggle of suitors chasing after her, and she would indulge in their affections for a while…at least until she would get bored, which was a sudden but unsurprising inevitability.

Mai did not quite understand why Ty Lee always seemed to discard perfectly fine fruit tarts, never really giving them a fair chance, but she imagined it had something to do with that rotten sugar cake. But as much as Mai disliked the murderous, twisted sugar cake, she wasn't really one to judge.

After all, her fruit tart hadn't exactly been fresh out of the oven when she'd fallen for him, either.

"Um…well, like I said, I've never—I mean, she's never actually tried sugar cakes, but she thinks she might like them. Well like, she kind of had one once or twice, but it didn't  _really_  count, because—"

" _Stop._  I don't need to hear that," Mai said as she put her face in her hand, rubbing her temples and essentially willing herself to not have an aneurysm from the sheer amount of unwanted information she was learning.

"Are you sure, because it might be import—"

"No, really, stop. I got it." Mai pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew she had always been Ty Lee's go-to source for counseling on feelings, despite her own trouble with expressing them, but Mai had to draw the line somewhere. Ty Lee's various romantic exploits seemed as good a place as any. She sighed. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Of course I do! That's why I came here in the first place. You're my best friend and like, the second smartest person I know."

"Gee, thanks. That makes me feel so good about myself," Mai deadpanned.

"You're welcome!" Ty Lee said with an earnest grin. "I know a lot of people."

Mai sighed. She really couldn't be mad at the girl if she tried. Even though Ty Lee was her polar opposite in almost every way, and Mai pretty much hated everything and everyone, she admittedly cared a great deal for the ditzy little goofball. She had no desire to see her get hurt.

After all, they were best (if unlikely) friends, and Mai had already spent far too many nights comforting Ty Lee and far too many mornings trying to get the tear and snot stains out of her garments in this lifetime.

It always happened the same way: the sugar cake would do or say something, Ty Lee would put on a brave face, then go to Mai's and complain or cry about it for hours. Mai would sigh and comfort the girl to the best of her ability. Sometimes the sugar cake would show up and apologize, most of the time she wouldn't, probably because she had no empathy and simply was not aware that she'd done something wrong or hurtful. Either way, Ty Lee always ended up going back for some inexplicable reason.

Mai had hoped Ty Lee's two-year sojourn from Azula's influence had given her some much-needed perspective. She had hoped that things had changed, and that Ty Lee had grown out of her little infatuation (though Ty Lee had never admitted it and apparently still had trouble doing so, Mai was neither oblivious nor in denial and thus knew exactly what it was).

But even after two long years, with prison walls between them and the war behind them, it was happening again.

And Mai had no intention of watching it happen again.

"Look, Ty Lee. I think that if there's a sweet sugar cake sitting in the trash, it's there for a reason."

Ty Lee's face was blank. Mai returned the bridge of her nose to between her fingertips.

"What I'm trying to say is – if your friend really wants sweet sugar cakes, there are tons of them that  _aren't_  in garbage cans that are far less likely to give her a stomachache."

The sentence sounded even more ridiculous coming out of her mouth than it had in her head.

Ty Lee blinked, and seemed to pause to consider for a moment. "Okay the friend is me, and the desserts are people."

Mai shook her head. "No,  _really_?" she muttered, resting her face in the palm of her hand. "And the sweet sugar cake in the garbage is Azu—"

"NO! STOP!" Ty Lee cried, leaping halfway across the room to place her hand over Mai's mouth. "If you say it out loud, it comes true, and I don't think I want it to be true…at least, not now. Or maybe ever. But definitely not now. Probably. No, definitely. Yeah, definitely. I think."

Mai firmly but gently removed her friend's hands from her face. "You know it doesn't work that way, right? Just because you say it aloud doesn't make it true."

"Well, duh, but I just don't want to accu—actuary—accentuate—what's the word I'm looking for? Begins with an 'ack' sound," Ty Lee mumbled, furrowing her brow deeply.

"Actualize?"

"Yeah! Actualize! I don't want to actualize it. See? You're so smart," Ty Lee said with a grin. "Second smartest girl I know!"

"Please stop saying that," Mai drawled, though she was still mildly impressed Ty Lee knew what 'actualized' meant. At least her time away had improved her vocabulary. "Okay, fine. I won't say it aloud. But do you want my advice or not?"

Ty Lee nodded fervently, and Mai sighed. How Azula had ever managed to not throttle the energetic young acrobat before, Mai would never know.

"My advice is to go to the asylum and check yourself in, because anyone who wants a sugar cake like that is crazier than the cake itself."

Ty Lee frowned, staring at Mai with her big doe eyes. Mai let out another, long sigh.

"You asked what I thought. Obviously you didn't like what you heard. You wanted me to support you and tell you to go for it. But I'm not going to. Because this sugar cake is rotten, Ty. It's bad and it's going to make you sick. So you might as well forget about her and just move on," Mai paused, noticing the slight tremble of Ty Lee's lower lip, and sighed again. "There are plenty of other…desserts…in the baker—ugh, you know what I mean."

"You don't think I've tried that already? I have. I went cold turkey-duck! Twice! It didn't work. And I went halfway around the world last time, too!"

"Maybe you should try the Southern Pole then. I hear it's really icy this time of year."

"Ugh, I just…I don't know what to do," Ty Lee groaned, flopping backwards onto Mai's canopy bed. "I think there's something wrong with me because I  _know_  the sugar cake is bad for me  _and_  dangerous for my health and well-being but…I can't stop thinking about it. Caring about it. Worrying about it. And every time I've tried to stop, it just gets worse and worse…And now it's all sad and lonely and angry and it definitely needs help but it's at the bottom of a garbage can all by itself and I feel at least partially if not  _completely_  responsible for that, and I want to at least help it get out of there, but I'm afraid that if I do, and the sugar cake is just too far gone, and then I might have to do what Zuko asked me to do, and I'm just going to get worse and worse until my aura is lemon-yellow! Or worse… _brown_! Brown, Mai! Do you know what  _else_  is brown?"

"…Your hair?" Mai offered.

"No, poo—!"

"Calm down," Mai interrupted, holding a hand out for extra emphasis. She rubbed her temple lightly with her other hand. "First of all, it is not your fault that the sugar cake is in the garbage. She did that all by herself. So don't blame yourself for that. Second, do you really want to dig it out of the trash? Do you remember what it was even like before? And third, I agree that brown is a disgusting color."

"Well, yeah it's like, all gross and dark and stuff without being classy like black is…and my hair is  _chestnut_ , not brown, Mai, gosh—"

"You were saying…?" The acrobat had a tendency to ramble on forever if you let her, and while Mai usually found it mildly entertaining, she had somewhere to be about half an hour ago.

"Oh, right," Ty Lee mumbled, sitting up. "Look, I know you've never really liked…sugar cakes. I know you two have had your differences. But I think…I don't know. I think she needs my help. I think she might be in trouble. And I know she's really mean and manipulative and hurtful…but I think…I think if I don't at least try…I'll never forgive myself."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble can a sugar cake get into when it's stuck to the bottom of a garbage can?"

"I…I don't know! I just…I have a feeling," Ty Lee rubbed back of her neck and averted her gaze. There was something she wasn't telling Mai, but she'd never been one to pressure people into saying more than they wanted…most likely because she never wanted to listen to more than she needed.

"The garbage can could be  _haunted_!" Ty Lee's cried suddenly, eyes bugged out wide. She flailed her arms and wiggled her fingers creepily in Mai's direction.

"You've already told me that theory, and I told you that there isn't a single ghost that's scarier than Az—the sugar cake," Mai deadpanned, folding her arms across her chest.

Ty Lee dropped her arms to her sides with a sigh and crossed her legs. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. She did it a few more times, folded her own arms across her chest, and finally spoke.

"Okay…what if…the garbage man…what if he's evil?"

Mai let out another long, long sigh. She took a deep breath, then looked at Ty Lee square in the eye.

It was a long shot, but it was something her friend desperately needed to hear.

"Do you remember that stupid fairy tale about the Boy and the Dragon?"

"Um, are you kidding?" Ty Lee sat up straight and stared at Mai, her mouth agape in horror. "I'm talking to you about something  _serious_  and you're asking me for stories to tell your little brother?"

"This isn't for him; it's for you."

"Huh?"

"Just…look, just listen, okay? It's a stupid story about this boy and this dragon—"

"Um, aren't you forgetting something?"

Mai rolled her eyes. This conversation was going to be the absolute death of her…

She was kind of hating how much she was enjoying it. Mai would never admit it, but she missed having talks like these with Ty Lee. The territory was familiar, and it took her mind off of the bigger, more pressing issues at hand.

Not to mention it was pretty nice having another person besides Zuko to listen to, even if what she was hearing was mildly disconcerting.

"Fine.  _Once upon a time_ , blah blah blah, there was a dumb boy and an even dumber dragon. The dragon was not a nice dragon, and it used to fly around setting things on fire because it was crazy and had zero empathy for anything or anyone. The boy, for some reason or another, decided he wanted to catch the dragon."

"Uh-huh…"

"So the boy spends his entire life chasing the dragon. That's all he does. He just chases that good-for-nothing dragon all around the world, hoping to catch it."

"…So does he ever catch it?" Ty Lee asked, hugging her knees into her chest. She looked as eager as Mai's little brother during his story times.

She almost didn't have the heart to tell her how it ended.

"No. He doesn't. He dies old and alone, with no wife or kids, with absolutely nothing accomplished because he wasted his life trying to catch the big dumb dragon, who doesn't even care that he exists. He never learns, never grows up, and never makes anything of himself because he never let go of his stupid, childhood fantasy."

_Almost_.

"…I don't like this story," Ty Lee said after a moment of silence. "And I really don't think you can call it a fairy tale if it doesn't end with happily ever after."

"Okay so it's not a fairy tale. Whatever. The point is—"

"Can you tell the one about the Monkey King instead? I like that one a lot better."

"Look, the point is—the moral of the story—is simple. And very, very applicable to you."

"What's that?"

"…Know a lost cause when you see it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first off, a GREAT HUGE THANK YOU to my awesome beta reader touzen, who is amazing and really helped me out with whipping this chapter into shape. You rock (and force me to actually work on editing myself)!
> 
> So here's a short, funny/sad little chapter with Mai and Ty Lee. I really wanted their interaction to come across as two people who have a genuine friendship and are very comfortable around one another, even though they keep secrets. I hope I achieved that with their dialogue!
> 
> Zuko has a flashback chapter next. It is long and adds some backstory.


	10. The Boy

Ty Lee stared at Zuko blankly. Zuko stared right back, and she quickly averted her gaze, suddenly quite interested in the carpet.

Zuko gestured to the wooden chair in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat," he said with a light clearing of his throat. It still came out sounding far too stern for his tastes. He was Fire Lord now, but that was no excuse to act so stiffly around his old friends.

"Um…sure." She sat in the chair and began fiddling with her braid, avoiding Zuko's gaze.

Zuko noticed An lingering in the doorway still, his eyes fixed on Ty Lee. Zuko craned his head to see for himself what was so interesting about Ty Lee's back, but found nothing. He raised an eyebrow.

"An, you may go now," Zuko commanded. The young general started, accidentally smashing his elbow against the door frame. He inhaled sharply through his teeth, but said nothing.

"O-oh. Right. My apologies, Fire Lord." He bowed hastily before exiting, closing both doors to Zuko's office behind him.

Zuko sighed and shook his head, then turned his attention back onto the fidgety girl in front of him. "How are you lately, Ty?"

"Oh…um…fine, fine…you know me. Busy Ty Lee…like a little bee…eating lots of…peas…" Ty Lee trailed off, brow furrowed in confusion at her own remarks. She was probably one of the very few people Zuko knew who could baffle themselves with their own nonsense, Sokka being one of the others.

"….Right. Well, you're probably wondering why I called you in here," Zuko cleared his throat again.

"Is this about General How? I've already upped the security detail around the palace today in preparation for that…and I know Mai missed your meeting, but that wasn't really my fault because she didn't tell me, and—"

"No, it's not about the General. Though he did seem mildly offended Mai decided not to show…" Zuko paused, an image of the rigid Earth Kingdom General's disapproving glare bringing a light smile to his lips. But now was not the time to dwell on their very important visitor. He would deal with  _that_  later. "I hear you've been visiting my sister."

"W-what?! H-how…who…Mai? It was Mai, wasn't it? Darn it, Mai, I knew you couldn't keep a secret—!" Ty Lee muttered angrily to the floor, shaking a vengeful fist to no one in particular.

"It doesn't matter who it was," Zuko interrupted. Out of all the things in the big wide world, he feared his icy fiancée's wrath the most, and if Ty Lee were to confront her about this, he was certain he'd be cold-shouldered for at least a week. "I'm not mad at you," Zuko reassured, before smirking lightly. "Even though you said you had my permission, Royal Inquisitor."

"Oh…riiiight. About that…well…you see…I—um…okay, there was this shirt, and it was purple, and—"

"You don't have to explain."

"Oh! Uh…you're not angry? That's good!" Ty Lee faltered when he did not smile back. "…Right?"

"How has she been with you?" he asked quietly.

"Um…great! Just great! Definitely not evil or anything…"

Zuko frowned.

"Ty Lee…" he warned. She offered up a half-smile, then cast her gaze down to the floor.

"Um…well…you know. It's hard to describe. She's just been kind of…mean. Distant. Mostly mean. Sometimes it seems like she's not there…but sometimes it's like nothing's changed at all. She talks a lot—sometimes, that is…but she didn't say much today. But she did—er…well…she didn't say much," Ty Lee trailed off, distracting herself with the end of her braid.

Zuko looked at her for a moment, but she did not continue.

"Did she say or do anything unusual? Anything that seemed…odd?"

"N-no, nothing." Ty Lee looked down at her feet again.

"Are you sure?"

Ty Lee bit her lip and shook her head.

"So there's nothing else you want to tell me?"

Ty Lee nodded.

"Are you absolutely sure? She didn't…give you anything, perhaps?"

Ty Lee's eyes went wide with an odd look of horror. Her lips disappeared into a thin line and she shook her head fervently.

Zuko rose from his chair, his posture rigid and his robes stately. He made his way over to the window overlooking the Imperial Garden, where they once all played as youth. If he looked hard enough, he could see the images of their younger selves, running around wildly and screaming at the top of their lungs, while his mother looked on lovingly. Those were simpler times, before his father got it into his head that he could ascend to the throne.

He remembered much about his childhood. He remembered being many things to his family; the firstborn son, his father's heir, a young prince. He remembered that he was not born on time, he was born small and sickly, and he had nearly killed his mother before he finally left the womb. He remembered being told how the physicians had to watch him closely the first few months of his life, and how his mother never left his side. He remembered being told how fussy he was, how he always cried until his face was red, how he had to be rocked to sleep and coaxed to be fed. He had never been independent, not even from his birth, and he supposed he'd always been a mama's boy. He might have been too little and too late for his father's taste, but in his mother's eyes, he was perfect.

He remembered being an only child for two glorious years, and he was never lonely with Lu Ten around. They played together often, with Fire Lord Lu Ten always leading the way and Zuko the General following close behind. He remembered being doted on by his cousin, his uncle, and his mother. Even his father used to hold him back then, when he wasn't busy in war meetings with Uncle Iroh.

Then Azula was born. Beautiful, punctual, perfect Azula, who never cried, never put his mother's life in danger, and never needed anyone else's help. She was everything Zuko wasn't, right from the start.

You're a big brother now, they told him. Be a good big brother.

But he didn't want to be a good big brother. He didn't want to share or play with the oddly quiet baby who took away his toys and his old room and his father's attention. He didn't want to take care of anyone else; he wanted to be cared for by others. He didn't want to be big; he wanted to be small.

Besides, even if he had wanted to be a good big brother, he had no idea what that entailed. His uncle was his father's big brother, and those two never really seemed to get along. Zuko looked up to his uncle, who was more like a father to him than anyone else, and if his uncle constantly gave  _his_  little brother a hard time, then shouldn't Zuko do that as well?

Once, when Zuko was a little older, he had wandered into his baby sister's room to search for his mother. She was sitting next to the royal bassinet, which Zuko bitterly thought might have once been his, humming softly and embroidering a silk handkerchief. He asked if he could play with Azula, but his mother told him no, she was sleeping, and babies needed their rest.

Zuko wasn't used to hearing the word no, especially not from his mother.

He wanted to hate his little sister for that. He stood over her crib and frowned at how little and weak she looked. Everyone always made a fuss over just how  _perfect_  she was, unlike problematic Zuko. Even the Sages said she was destined for greatness.

They had said the same about Zuko, but somehow when it was about Azula, it was easier for everyone, especially his father, to believe.

When his mother finally drifted off to sleep in her chair, Zuko stood on his tippy toes and nudged his little sister awake with his index finger. Perhaps if she cried, she would no longer be so perfect, and then they could have something in common after all.

Small, almond-shaped, golden eyes looked up into his. He wanted them to burst into tears, as he had done, as babies were supposed to do.

But she didn't.

She reached up her little hand and grasped his finger tightly, gurgling happily.

Zuko wanted to be angry with her. He had wanted her to scream and cry and wake his mother up, but she didn't. She smiled and laughed and held onto his finger with all her infantile might.

Gross, Zuko had thought, as his baby sister stuck his finger in her mouth. But he sighed and let her persist when he saw how happy it made her.

He wasn't angry with her, and he didn't hate her, even though he had wanted to. She was his little sister after all. She looked just like him, too.

He wanted to a good big brother, then, he had decided. He would be a grown-up and care for her, just like his mother cared for him.

He wrapped her silk blankets around her tightly and reached down, trying to pick her up. He wanted to hold her, just for a minute, to see what it was like. That was what grown-ups did with babies, wasn't it?

At that moment his father stormed in, screaming for Zuko to put her down and get off of the crib. He grabbed Zuko roughly by his little arm and dragged him back to his own room, despite his awakened mother's protests. Even though his father slammed the door shut, Zuko could hear his parents argue for what seemed like forever.

"He could have injured her! How could you permit such a thing to happen?"

"He's just a child! He didn't know any better!"

"Precisely the reason why  _you_  should have been more watchful!"

They had never really fought before, not before Azula. They all used to be so happy together, before she came along.

It was all her fault.

In that moment, Zuko hated his little sister. He wished she'd never even been born.

And as they got older, things only got more complicated.

"Marvelous," the Sages had said, as they watched a young Azula read aloud a whole chapter from one of Zuko's schoolbooks. She even managed to catch and correct a misprinted word. "A true prodigy."

They had never said anything like that about Zuko. His mother would comfort him about this frequently, telling him in her soothing voice that he was merely what they called a "late bloomer".

But Zuko didn't want to be a stupid flower. He was the big brother, older and supposedly better than his dumb little sister. So why  _wasn't_  he, and more importantly, why didn't anyone treat him as such?

He earned top marks in his class, was one of the best tsungi horn players (much to his dismay, as he hated the instrument, but it was one of the few things he excelled at that Azula did not…though he feared she might if she ever tried), and he had already begun learning the art of firebending, much sooner than any of the other children in his class. He already knew some forms, as he had often snuck into the private training grounds to watch his cousin and uncle practice their stances and techniques.

He hoped that one day he would be as great a firebender as his father, whom everyone said was the only person able to best Uncle Iroh in a one-on-one fight.

But no matter what he did, no matter how good he was, no matter how hard he tried or trained or practiced, it always seemed as if Azula were trying to one-up him.

* * *

" _What're you doing?" came a small, annoying voice from behind Zuko. He rolled his eyes._

" _Nothing. Grown-up stuff," Zuko muttered as he continued setting up the battlefield. He had just gotten a brand new toy soldier for his collection of army figurines, and this one was made in the likeness of his own grandfather, the great Fire Lord Sozin. He was going to use him to re-enact the Battle of the Air Temples._

" _Can I play?" Azula asked._

" _NO," Zuko said. "And I'm not playing, I'm re-enacting."_

" _It looks like you're playing to me." Azula crouched down beside him, poking at Gyatso, the hideous and wicked old general of the Air Nation Army. "I can be the Air Warrior dolls."_

" _They're not dolls, they're figurines!" Zuko insisted, pushing his four year old sister aside. She was always following him everywhere and wanting to do whatever it was he was doing. Sometimes she would bother him just to get him to chase her, and their mother never intervened. It was so annoying. "Besides, you're a girl. You wouldn't know how to do this kinda stuff."_

_It was true that girls didn't know how to play with battlefield figurines. The very best girl he knew, his mother, never went to war meetings like his father and uncle and cousin did, so why would the worst girl he knew be any different?_

" _You could teach me," Azula offered quietly as she picked up a figurine. "I learn fast."_

_Zuko frowned at the remark. Everyone was always praising Azula for how smart she was, and he didn't need to hear it from her, too. "You wouldn't understand it even if I explained it to you," Zuko hissed, before noticing she was holding his prized figurine of Fire Lord Sozin. "Hey, don't touch that!"_

" _But I wanna play, too!" Azula whined, hiding the doll behind her back._

" _I said, NO. Give him back!" Zuko lunged for her, but she sidestepped him easily, causing him to fall forward into the grass._

" _Not until you let me play!" she yelled as she ran behind one of the garden's berry bushes._

" _Give him BACK!" Zuko screamed, lunging through the bush. Azula shrieked and ran down the stone pathway around the pond._

" _You're gonna have to catch me, first!" Azula taunted as she sprinted away._

" _Get back here!" She was fast, for a girl, and too fast for Zuko to catch, even though he was bigger and stronger. Zuko dug his heels into the ground and screamed at the top of his lungs. "I'm telling on you! MOM! MOM!"_

" _Zu-Zu? What's wrong?" his mother asked gently, emerging from inside the veranda._

" _Azula took my figurine and she won't give it back!" Zuko roared_ _, pointing at Azula, who was crouching behind a stone lantern._

" _Azula, give your brother his doll back," his mother ordered_ _. Azula, cheeks flushed_ _, emerged and stomped both her feet into the ground._

" _But I just wanted to play!" Azula moaned, holding onto the doll with both hands._

" _Azula, this isn't the way you get people to play with you," his mother chided, turning to Zuko and placing a reassuring hand against his back. "Now Zuko, is there a reason you wouldn't let Azula play with you?"_

" _I'm not playing, I'm re-enacting! It's going to be a big, big battle and if Azula plays she's just going to ruin it!"_

" _No I'm not! Stop lying, you liar!" Azula shrieked, stomping her foot into the ground again._

" _Azula! Don't talk to your brother that way!" Azula's face turned even pinker. "Zuko, if I let you play by yourself for a little bit, can Azula play with you afterwards?"_

" _But mom, she's a girl! Girls can't play war!" He attended an all-boys' school, and it was universally accepted that boys were better than girls, and boys and girls could not and should not ever play together._

" _Yes I can! I can do anything you can do!"_

" _No you can't! You're a GIRL!"_

" _Calm down, or else neither of you gets to play," his mother said in a scary tone which meant that she was serious. She crouched down to both their levels. "Now Zu-Zu, if you play war for a little bit, will you play something else with Azula afterwards?"_

"… _I guess," Zuko mumbled, looking down at the ground kicking a pebble out of his way. Stupid pebble._

" _Azula, is that okay?"_

" _But why can't I play war? I'm just as good as Zu-Zu at anything!"_

_Zuko scowled. He was a prince of the Fire Nation, and aside from Lu Ten, no one was supposed to be as good as him at anything, least of all a little girl._

" _Because little girls like you aren't supposed to be playing war. Now give your brother his doll back."_

" _But—!"_

" _No buts!"_

" _Fine. Take your stupid doll," Azula spat, shoving_ _the figurine into Zuko's hands._

" _That is no way for you to behave, young lady!"_

_While his mother was busy reprimanding his little sister, Zuko stared at the doll in his hands, horrified. Sozin's head grotesquely leaned_ _to one side, his neck splintered at the base. "Oh no...she ruined it! Mom, look! She broke it!"_

" _Oh, dear. Here, let me take a look…" his mother said as she gingerly took the doll from Zuko's shaking hands._ _"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. We'll get you a new one."_

" _But I don't_ _ **want**_ _a new one! I want_ _ **this**_ _one! And she ruined it! She ruins everything she ever touches!"_

" _It's okay, Zuko, calm down." She rubbed his back, but the tears had already begun burning in his eyes._ _He buried his face into his mother's comforting robes. "Azula, what have I told you about breaking your brother's things?"_

" _But I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"_

" _No it wasn't! You did it on purpose!" came Zuko's accusation, half-muffled by the curtain of silk around his face._

" _No I didn't! And it wouldn't have happened if you'd just let me play!"_

" _Not another_ _ **word**_ _out of you, young lady. You've caused enough trouble for one day," his mother said before turning back to comfort her son. "There, there, it's okay, Zuko… We'll see if daddy can fix it, okay?"_

" _N-n-n-no…I d-d-d-don't want to leave h-her a-lone w-w-w-with m-my other th-things!" Zuko wailed, bunching bits of his mother's robe in his fists as he cried into it._

" _Okay, okay. Zuko, why don't you stay here and clean up the rest of your toys, and I'll go get daddy to see what he can do, all right? I'll be right back." His mother kissed him on the forehead, though it did little to help the gut-wrenching pain he was feeling inside. "And_ _ **you**_ _better be on your best behavior while I'm gone, young lady."_

" _Yes, mom," Azula grumbled quietly, folding her arms over her chest as their mother disappeared back into the palace. Zuko stomped_ _over to where his battlefield had been meticulously placed._

" _Stupid Azula," Zuko muttered as he began picking up the rest of his figurines. It would be pointless to continue re-enacting the Battle of the Air Temples without Sozin himself. "This is all_ _ **your**_ _fault!"_

" _Why are you even crying? It's just a doll," Azula huffed, having followed Zuko back to his play area. "She's going to get you a new one anyway. She always does."_

" _But I liked THAT one! You don't get it. You'll never get it. Everything was better before YOU came along. You're a…a…a monster! You ruin everything!"_

_Azula's round face contorted viciously_ _. She balled her little hands into equally little fists._

" _Oh yeah? Well you wanna know what I think of you and your dumb dolls, you…you Dum-Dum?" With one leg planted firmly in the ground, Azula raised her other leg and kicked across the makeshift battlefield, attempting to knock over the small battalion closest to her. A small arc of orange flames swept outwards from where she had kicked, dissipating just before it reached Zuko. He stared speechlessly at the disaster before him; half his wooden dolls had been knocked over, while the other half were very clearly on fire._

" _Y-you…how did you—?" Zuko stammered as the flames spread. He had been practicing his firebending for a while now, and he was barely able to produce any flames at all, let alone an arc of them. The flames crackled and pop as they grew larger and feasted on his wooden soldiers, consuming nearly his entire collection and threatening to spread to the rest of the garden._

" _Get back," a powerful voice boomed, and Zuko fell over backwards. He looked up to see his father leap the distance from the veranda to the play area in a single bound and, with a single fluid motion, snuff out the blaze with a wave of his hand._

" _Oh, my goodness! Zuko, are you all right?"_

_In a moment Zuko could feel himself get swept up in his mother's tender embrace. She always held him as if he were made of glass. But he was still too focused on what he had just witnessed._

_How could Azula firebend? She had never learned before. Had she been spying on uncle and Lu Ten as well?_

" _Who did that?" his father asked sternly but quietly, as he surveyed the considerable damage. "Answer me."_

_Azula seemed to shrink away from their father, fearful of his wrath. Their father was quiet on most days, but his temper was legendary. Zuko smirked. Now was his chance._

" _She did. Azula did it! I saw her do it!" Zuko cried, pointing at Azula. She glared at Zuko and frowned, but her expression was quickly replaced with one of utmost worry as their father turned to her._

" _Azula? But she couldn't have…she's so young…" his mother murmured, looking at her husband questioningly._

" _Do it again," Ozai commanded. "Exactly the way you did it before."_

" _I…I don't know how," Azula mumbled, staring at the ground in front of her._

" _Do it. Now."_

_Trembling, Azula lifted her leg and half-heartedly kicked outward. Nothing happened._

" _I…I can't."_

"…"  _Their father stared at Azula silently for a moment, his eyes narrowed. He shook his head. "If you thoroughly believe such a thing, then it will be true. How disappointing."_

_With that, he turned to leave, but Azula cried out._

" _Daddy, wait!"_

_He paused._

" _Well? Don't waste my time."_

_Azula nodded. She slowly looked up at her mother, who was still holding Zuko close. Zuko watched as her breathing steadily got heavier and her brow furrowed in a mixture of concentration and anger. Finally, she gave a small grunt and kicked outward, once again producing a burst of flames, even bigger than before._

_Zuko watched as their father's lips curled into a small smile._

"… _Come with me," he commanded. She nodded and obediently followed him back into the palace, pausing briefly to give one last look over her shoulder to her brother and mother._

_From that day onward, everything changed._

* * *

Once Ozai learned of Azula's talent for firebending, Zuko began to see her less and less, which he was happy about at first, since it meant she was no longer around to bother him. He was also glad that he was not the one stuck training with Lo and Li, the scary old women who had once taught his own father, because their identical wrinkled visages frightened him.

But Zuko wasn't happy that his father, who never seemed to have time for him or his mother, would set aside time to personally oversee Azula's training at least once a week. Zuko was the firstborn son, so Zuko was supposed to be the favorite…but Ozai only ever seemed to pay attention to his daughter. He had even gone out and purchased the family a pet that Azula had often asked for. It was an owl-cat, small and white, and his little sister absolutely adored it. Zuko remembered watching her drag it around on a leash and smother it with her overzealous brand of affection.

One day, Zuko and Azula got into another fight, like they always did. He didn't even remember what it had been about, only that he was really mad and Azula was really stupid. So he snuck into the little house where the owl-cat slept and undid its collar. He watched as it flew away into the night sky.

Azula waited next to the little house every night for a month, a bowl of food in her lap, convinced that the pet would eventually come back to her.

It never did.

The next day of the new month, Zuko awoke to find that the little house had been burned to ash.

Mom punished Azula for her act of wanton destruction, while no one ever suspected Zuko for his involvement.

After that, Azula, the times Zuko did see her, became even more unbearable than before.

The changes were small at first, but they gradually became noticeable, even to Zuko's untrained eye. There was a certain hardness to her now, and a steely glint in her eyes that reminded him too much of his father. She was no longer interested in following Zuko around; instead, she preferred to lead around others. Instead of playing with lifeless dolls or figurines, she toyed with people and living creatures. Instead of her accidental penchant for destruction, she now destroyed with purpose and malice.

Under their father's tutelage, Azula had become cold, cruel, and manipulative. She was overbearingly sweet whenever any adults were present, but horridly vindictive in the company of anyone she viewed as her lesser. She lied like it was second nature, could talk her way out of almost any situation, and always knew what to say to poke and prod at Zuko's deepest insecurities.

She had always been considered Zuko's superior by their father and the Sages, but now she was well aware of it, and frequently rubbed it in his face.

* * *

" _What are you doing?" Zuko asked, approaching his sister, who was rarely seen lounging around most days. She sat in the garden by the pond, fiddling with a loaf of bread, almost looking like any other normal six year old girl. A small cluster of turtle ducks were swimming nearby, though they looked particularly nervous._

_It was a national holiday, so the two of them had been dismissed from school early. Some of his friends were getting ready to play a game of firetag in the public courtyard, but they were short one player._

_Even though Zuko disliked Azula, she was still his sister, and an admittedly talented firebender. If they played on the same team, there was no way they could lose._

" _What does it look like, Dum-Dum?" Azula replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm feeding the turtle ducks."_

_She ripped off a small piece of bread and rolled it into a ball, then pelted one of the baby turtle ducks with it. It quacked in surprise, then ate the bread that had fallen into the water. Zuko frowned._

" _They're so stupid they keep coming back, even though they know it's dangerous," Azula remarked casually, a small grin on her lips. She looked at Zuko out of the corner of her eye. "Like some other people I know."_

" _If you hate them so much, why feed them at all?" Zuko asked, readjusting his shoulder bag. Azula sighed and rolled her eyes._

" _I don't hate them, Dum-Dum," Azula explained, pelting another duck with a ball of bread. "I'm just playing with them."_

" _That doesn't look like fun to me."_

" _Of course not to_ _ **you**_ _; you're a dummy. You can't see the bigger picture." She dusted off her hands as she rose to her feet, carelessly tossing the rest of the loaf into the pond. She was still shorter than Zuko, but it never really felt that way anymore. "I want to see how far I can push them before they give up."_

" _What if they fight back?"_

_Azula laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "They won't. They're too scared of me. They know that if they ever do…I'll just destroy them."_

" _But you can't do that…!"_

" _Why not? I'm a princess, aren't I? Who's going to stop me?_ _ **You**_ _? Please. You're just as weak and pathetic as mother. You have no_ _ **real**_ _power. But I'm not like you. I'm_ _ **better**_ _,"Azula said, a cruel half-smirk on her face. She added, in a sing-song voice,_ _"And I can do whatever I want." Her eyes glimmered with that familiar glint, the same one Zuko often saw in his father's eyes. She even stood the way he did; head held high and her hands together behind her back. "Besides…they're just ducks, Zu-Zu. We only have them in the garden for our enjoyment anyway. And if I enjoy destroying them, then they've already fulfilled their purpose, wouldn't you agree?"_

_Zuko frowned. He didn't like the way Azula talked these days. And she used to like animals._

" _Quit being weird. Come on, some friends and I are going to play firetag. We'll let you play with us if you want."_

" _I don't have time for you or your childish games," Azula scoffed_ _, crossing her arms and brushing past Zuko. He knew that was a lie, as Azula loved games of any kind. "I've outgrown you." Azula turned and looked down at the water, eyeing it impatiently_ _. "Come on, Ty Lee! I'm waiting!"_

_Suddenly, a small girl with a long braid and a pink bathing suit burst out of the pond, a lily pad strapped on her head and a bamboo straw stuck in her mouth. The turtle ducks scattered, quacking wildly._

" _Coming! Hi, Zu-Zu! Bye, Zu-Zu!" the girl cried, dropping the bamboo straw and splashing water all over the place as she hurried to catch up with Azula._

_Zuko shook his head. He didn't know who had it worse; the turtle ducks or Ty Lee. How someone like Azula ever managed to find and keep herself a lackey, he'd never know._

* * *

Zuko had once, in a fit of anger, called his sister a monster, and at that point, it hadn't really been true. But as the years went on, he watched as his slur for her gradually came to fruition. She was indeed a monster; one neglected by their mother, rejected by her brother, and sculpted by their father. She was every bit as conniving and ruthless as Ozai wanted. And though it had taken Zuko a lot of time and a long period of self-reflection to come to terms with it, he finally accepted the part he had played in his sister's current state.

He had stood by silently all these years and watched as she slowly seemed to lose empathy for any other being…except for one.

The braided acrobat with the pink clothes, huge eyes, and even bigger smile…Ty Lee was the exact opposite of Azula in almost every way. She was bright, bubbly, and cheerful, friendly and sincere, slightly dim and extremely goofy. It was weird watching them stand side-by-side and even weirder to watch them interact. He understood why Mai and Azula were friends; they seemed to share a mutual dislike of almost everyone and everything in existence. But Ty Lee was a conundrum.

Zuko always imagined that Azula's friends would be faceless drones, little lumps of clay without any semblance of personality that she could mold and bend to fit her own whims and desires. Instead she chose a deeply cynical girl who feared practically nothing and an overly-energetic acrobat who proudly flaunted her kooky individuality.

And both of them had betrayed her. More than once.

* * *

_Zuko paced back and forth at the entrance of the imperial prison. He knew the guards were watching him curiously, but he didn't care. If his father or sister could see him now, they'd surely reprimand him for behavior not fitting of a Fire Lord._

_But he was the Fire Lord now, not them. He could hardly believe it, but then again, it was only his first official day on the job._

_And as his third official act as ruler of the Fire Nation, he was going to have Aang take Azula's bending away._

_Except he was late, and so were his companions._

_Understandably, of course, as they had all stayed up late into the night, arguing back and forth over the fate of his deranged little sister. Firmly in the take-away-her-bending-forever camp, Sokka and Mai. In the let-her-keep-her-bending-and-find-another-way-to-rehabilitate-her camp, Katara. Everyone else was somewhere in between…except for Ty Lee, who sat in the corner the whole night, uncharacteristically silent._

" _She's dangerous, Katara. She threw Suki into that horrible jail. She tried to kill you. She almost killed Zuko. She would've killed Aang! And now she's even crazier than before? We can't leave her with bending! It would be irresponsible!"_

" _The loud, annoying one is right. She's dangerous. We all know this," Mai deadpanned, idly stabbing the leftover meat on her plate with a knife. Their meeting had become a dinner meeting, and now it was a midnight meal meeting._

" _Yes! Thank you! Finally, someone else around here who has sense!" Sokka threw his hands up into the air. Mai rolled her eyes._

"… _You do realize the 'someone else who has sense' also called you loud and annoying right?" Katara asked, one eyebrow raised._

"… _Hey, I never said I was perfect…only logical," Sokka said, turning his nose up and folding his arms across his chest._ _"I can't believe we're even still discussing this!"_

" _We're discussing it because we need to! It's not as simple as you think it is," said Katara, who was sitting at the other end of the table next to Aang and Zuko. "I know you hate her. All of us here have a reason to. But you didn't see her like I did. She needs help. And if we don't give it to her, who will?"_

" _I'm not saying we shouldn't_ _ **help**_ _her, I'm just saying maybe we shouldn't help her while she still has the ability to fry us into burnt up little crispies with her fingers!"_

" _If we take her bending away, I'm telling you right now that nothing we ever do will help her."_

" _You don't know that, Katara. Maybe she'll be less of a murderous lunatic if we just…I dunno, take away her ability to be murderous!"_

" _Lunatic?_ _ **You're**_ _the guy whose girlfriend turned into the_ _ **moon—**_ _"_

" _Okay, that's just uncalled for!" Sokka pointed an accusatory finger at Katara before turning to Aang. "Aang, you took Ozai's bending away. What do you think of all this?"_

" _Oh…uh…well, I think we should all just get along?" Aang laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, honestly Sokka, it's not really my place to say…"_

" _Stop trying to avoid the issue, Aang! You're the Avatar, and it's your new magical energy whatever powers we're talking about using here. You should have a say in whether or not we use them."_

" _I only took Ozai's bending because there was no other way to stop him peacefully…but if Azula is locked up properly, she's not really much of a threat anymore. And if Katara thinks she can be rehabilitated…"_

" _Seriously, did you all drink cactus juice or something? This is Azula we're talking about here! You know, the girl who's tried to kill every last one of us at some point or another? You know what she's capable of! She's not some harmless, injured otter penguin you can just nurse back to health and keep as a pet!"_

_Katara sighed. "I know she's not harmless, but…I just think that she's in a really fragile state right now. And if we take her bending away…who knows what'll happen? She might snap for good. It's too risky. She's just a girl. If it were_ _**me** _ _—"_

" _But she's_ _ **not**_ _you, Katara! She's…she's_ _ **Azula**_ _! Crazy, crazy, Azula! There's only one answer here. Why are we even still talking about this? Suki's leaving tomorrow morning and I really—uh…would like to sleep at some point!"_

" _Yeah, why_ _ **are**_ _we even talking about this? She's not_ _ **my**_ _sister," Toph grumbled. She was lying on the floor with her hands behind her head and idly chewing on a piece of straw._

" _If you don't want to talk about it, why are you even here, Toph?" Katara asked, rolling her eyes._

_Toph shrugged and picked her ear. "I go where the meat is."_

" _Toph's right," Zuko said at last, setting his cup of tea back down on the table. He winced as a sharp pain shot through his abdomen and into his chest, right where Azula had struck him with lightning during their Agni Kai. "She's not your sister. She's mine. And it's my decision to make. I'm sorry for getting you all involved. I want to do the right thing, but…I've done the wrong thing so many times that I just…I'm afraid the decision I make will be the wrong one."_

_Katara placed her hand gently on Zuko's arm, offering a small, reassuring smile. Zuko noticed Mai's eyes narrow slightly, and her mouth became an even thinner line._ _"You won't, Zuko. I know you'll do the right thing."_

"… _Thanks, Katara. I've made my decision," Zuko said with a firm nod, his hand absent-mindedly tracing the outline of his newest scar. He looked at Ty Lee, who avoided his gaze and said nothing. "We'll take her bending away tomorrow."_

_And so, here he was, waiting outside of the prison for the Avatar and the rest of his companions to arrive. Despite Katara's skillful healing abilities, the scar on his stomach still ached, and it would likely mark him for the rest of his life._

_All he needed now was a scar from his long lost mother to complete the familial set, Zuko thought wryly._

" _Sorry we're late," Aang said as he arrived with a glowing_ _Sokka, a yawning Toph, and a somewhat subdued Katara._

" _We had to see Suki off at the harbor just now," Sokka explained with a dreamy look in his eyes. Katara rolled her eyes and shook her head lightly, but there were the faintest hints of an affectionate smile on a corner of her lips. It was odd, seeing Katara next to Sokka, not a single trace of animosity between them, even though they had spent the better part of last night yelling at one another._

_Was that how normal siblings were supposed to be?_

" _I understand," Zuko said calmly, though he felt even more anxious now that they had arrived. Part of him had hoped that they would fail to show up altogether. "Mai is waiting for us inside."_

" _Sweet, let's get this show on the road!" Toph cheered as she, Aang, and Sokka went inside the large compound. Katara lingered behind._

" _Look, I know it's not my place to tell you what to do," she began, looking at Zuko with her icy blue eyes. Unlike his sister's steely gaze, Katara's had a familiar, distinct softness to it, almost like his mother's. He had not seen that type of softness very often in his life, but he recognized it as compassion. "But I'm going to do it anyway because I really think you're making a huge mistake. Taking her bending away will destroy her. Even if she recovers mentally, she'll hate you forever."_

" _She already hates me, Katara. Letting her keep her bending won't change that."_

" _No, it won't make her not hate you…but if you take her bending away, that will never change."_

" _It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. She's already hurt so many people…" Zuko broke away from the haunting familiarity of Katara's gaze. "I don't want her to hurt anyone else. Not ever again."_

"… _Have you ever stopped to think about all the people who have hurt_ _ **her**_ _? I know I don't know much about you or your family other than what you've told me, but…I know what I saw that day. I know she was in pain. I know she needs help – our help – if you ever want her to get better."_

" _I'm sorry, Katara…but I've made up my mind." Zuko tried to sound as confident as possible, for his own sake as much as hers. "She's too dangerous. And I don't think she can get better. I know Azula, and I know she's never going to change."_

"… _ **You**_ _did, didn't you?"_

"… _I'm different. I wasn't a monster to begin with."_

"… _Was_ _ **she**_ _?"_

_Zuko looked at the ground, thinking of the small, determined girl sitting next to the little house. He thought of the sister who stole his dolls, who followed him wherever he went, who happily dragged their pet around on its leash. He thought of the sister with whom he'd built numerous sand castles and played countless games of firetag._

_He thought of the cold and calculating girl who sat at his father's right hand. He thought of the torturer of teachers, turtle ducks, and Ty Lee. He thought of her bitter blue flames and blistering lightning._

"… _Yes. She was," Zuko said quietly. Katara nodded solemnly and began heading into the building before them. Then he furrowed his brow with realization and looked around. "…Where's Ty Lee?"_

_Katara paused. "She's not coming. She wouldn't say why."_

_With that she entered the building, leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts._

* * *

And now here Ty Lee sat in front of him, looking as blissfully oblivious as ever. She had no idea that it had been partly due to her absence that he had changed his mind and saved his sister's bending that day.

He had looked into his betrayed and broken sister's eyes and seen it then; the sadness and pain he never wanted to acknowledge was there. He looked at her and saw the small infant gurgling happily as she played with his little hand, the little girl screaming wildly as he chased her around the garden, the baby sister he never really wanted and never really loved.

She had been wild that day, struggling desperately against her chains as she screamed nonsense and cried out for their father and mother. When she realized Ty Lee was not coming, she became eerily calm, almost as if she were suddenly resigned to her fate.

As much as Azula tried to deny it over the years, Zuko knew the truth.

She cared about her friends, or at the very least Ty Lee, and genuinely considered them such. And he knew that, deep down, she cared about him, too, in her own twisted little way. She had once brought him back from the depths of despair and anonymity in Ba Sing Se, after all…and if it weren't for her, he would likely never have met Mai, let alone begun dating her and eventually proposing to her…

But every last one of them, the only people Azula ever seemed to care about – Ozai, Mai, Zuko, and Ty Lee…had betrayed her.

It was time, Zuko had decided. He was not going to be too little, too late.

Not this time.

He was finally going to be a good big brother.

"Ty Lee, I'm afraid that I, as Fire Lord, must forbid you from visiting Azula ever again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A cliffhanger AND a Zuko chapter! I hope I did Zuko justice because I do like him as a character and I want to kind of redeem his relationship with Azula (even though he's a total ass to her in the series). I just want them to be friends, is that so much to ask? D: (I guess that's what Fanfiction is for, heh)
> 
> A big, giant, HUGE THANK YOU once again to my lovely beta reader touzen, who really helped me streamline my writing a bit and put this entire chapter together, particularly the end! I'd also like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed, you guys are awesome for putting up with this monster of a fic.
> 
> Side note about Azula bringing Zuko back from Ba Sing Se – this is a reference to "Going Home Again", one of the Dark Horse Comics. I'm not sure it's officially canon, but either way Azula is the one who brought Zuko back to the Fire Nation (and she set him up with Mai), which, if you think about it, really does not make sense unless she cares about him in some capacity.
> 
> Next up – nonstop plot train. Lots of mysteries revealed, and a few more created.


	11. The Nurse

Today was a special day, and Nurse Jiao Tian was nervous.

She couldn't believe it when she received the letter a little less than a week ago. It was the most exciting thing to happen to her since...she couldn't remember when. She turned the envelope over and over again in her hands, marveling at the elegant red insignia of Fire Lord Zuko. She opened it carefully, like a child trying to open a present without tearing the wrapping, and savored each and every character. Her heart thudded furiously in her chest the entire time.

It told her, in very eloquent and formal speech, that she'd been hand-picked by the Fire Lord himself for a very special, very important task.

His little sister, the Princess Azula, was in need of a new nurse.

Jiao had been working at the newly renovated mental facility for some time now, looking after many different patients with varying degrees of mental illness. Some were harmless, even rather sweet, like Min the mute girl, or Sie the perpetually hysterical cabbage merchant. Others, like the many, many veterans suffering from traumatic stress, were more troubled. War-hardened soldiers were supposed to die fighting for their country, not return home without any way to cope with the sudden change in their daily life and environment.

The facility was built specifically to contain the most dangerous cases and boasted state-of-the-art security systems, electronic locks, and the sturdiest and most comfortable cells that money could buy. It even had an emergency beacon installed on the roof that, when lit, would alert a series of guard towers that led all the way to the Royal Palace's outpost. The facility was also notable for its high level of discretion; mental illness was still not something easily understood by most people, and a stay at the remote facility guaranteed protection away from busybodies. When Jiao was first offered the job, she had to sign a contract that said she was not allowed to divulge any details regarding the facility's patients, under penalty of life imprisonment. It was a little extreme, but it ensured that only the richest people, or the ones who posed the greatest threat to national security, would be staying at such a prestigious and cutting edge mental hospital.

On top of the many renovations, there had been lots of staffing changes over the course of the past couple of years, but especially during the last one. The last warden, a kindly but ineffectual old man, had been replaced by Dr. Du Yi, a famous doctor from Ba Sing Se University. The Earth Kingdom was everywhere these days, Jiao noticed. It was bad enough she couldn't walk down a street without bowing to every Earth Kingdom soldier she passed, but now she couldn't even go to work without an earthbender guard breathing down her neck and watching her every move. At least the firebenders that had been there before wore masks, and she couldn't tell whether or not they were glaring at her. Which they probably weren't, because she was a law-abiding citizen of the Fire Nation. Jiao couldn't help but feel she lived in more of a police state now than when Fire Lord Ozai was in power, but everyone else in the world was calling  _him_  the tyrant.

After losing both her son and husband to the war, she had more than enough reason to hate Ozai, but she still hardly considered him a tyrant, let alone a war criminal. At least when Ozai was Fire Lord, she wasn't living in constant fear of being thrown into prison by doing something she didn't know was wrong. Like what happened to her neighbor, kindly old Mr. Zhang, who had a bad habit of spitting and was in the wrong place at the wrong time when an Earth Kingdom soldier just happened to be passing by. Or what happened to Mrs. Yao, who had been complaining loudly about missing the good old days of Fire Lord Azulon when she was arrested on the spot by another Earth Kingdom guard. Capital City prison was overcrowded enough, what with all the so-called war criminals awaiting trial, so Jiao hated to imagine how an octogenarian like Mrs. Yao was faring in there.

At least when Ozai was Fire Lord, their economy had been strong, prices were low, and the marketplaces were full. At least then Nurse Jiao could buy three heads of cabbage and a bag of rice for one copper piece, instead of one copper piece for half a wilted head of cabbage. And rice was almost impossible to get a hold of, even if she were willing to pay an arm and a leg for it, which she wasn't, despite the cravings. What would she do with a big bag of rice anyway, with her house as empty as it was?

At least when Ozai was Fire Lord, even though she never really bought into all the propaganda, she had never really questioned his ability to rule a nation. There were weekly reports about how many crucial battles they had won, how many colonies had been established and were thriving, how many new territories had been converted to their righteous cause. And even if all of that was rubbish, their Nation was still prospering. Manufacturing was up 50% every year, everyone was employed, and every child was in school. Progress was everywhere. Ozai even built  _airships_ , honest-to-goodness ships that could  _fly_. He  _had_ to have been doing  _something_  right.

She knew it was treasonous to even think that their new Fire Lord was fallible in any way, but to watch her home country fall from grace so spectacularly had cast a shadow of doubt in her mind. He was just a teenaged boy. And Jiao knew from experience that teenaged boys weren't often very smart.

But now her sovereign ruler had selected  _her_  to help care for his sister.

She didn't know what to make of it, how he'd even heard of her or how she came to be chosen, but she did know one thing. She was  _good_  at her job. Losing her family had forced her to dedicate herself completely to her work, because spending every waking moment at a little hospital on the outskirts of the city was better than staying home alone and drying her tears with her son's old jacket. It was only thanks to her glittering reputation and perfect attendance (not a single vacation or sick day, which was rare in her line of work) that she'd been plucked out of obscurity and given a job at the Capital City Mental Hospital all those years ago.

Well, it was good to know that Fire Lord Zuko did some things right, at least.

His sister, on the other hand, was a thing of legend. Jiao had heard all the stories and rumors, of course. It was impossible to live in the Fire Nation and not know about the renowned child prodigy turned fearless conqueror turned national hero turned urban legend. And she'd heard all the gossip, read all the different versions and theories of what had really happened the day the war ended. Fire Lord Zuko's repeal of the "Peaceful Printing Act", which previously censored any media that portrayed the Fire Nation or Royal Family in a negative light, triggered a revolution in the publishing world and gave rise to privately-owned newspapers, journals, and these new things called 'magazines' which were  _all_  the rage nowadays.

A topic of particular interest to the public, including Jiao, was the day when Avatar Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai and when Prince Zuko was crowned ruler instead of his much more famous sister. Jiao, like everyone else she knew, devoured every article ever printed on the subject, because Azula's skills were renowned far and wide, so when it was revealed she had lost the throne to her brother in the very last Agni Kai, no one in the marketplace or at her weekly Pai Sho club could believe it. Widow Chung even burst into tears at the thought, having once witnessed Azula perform a flawless,  _blue-flamed_  Fire Blossom Form at the Annual Youth Firebending Tournament, something which she never failed to bring up.

Some journalists claimed that Zuko had enlisted the help of a small group of elite waterbender assassins to aid him in stealing the throne back, and since he had been banished by his father, his rule was illegitimate. Others alleged that as the oldest son of Fire Lord Ozai and ally of Avatar Aang, Zuko's rule was ordained by Heaven, which gave him the strength to single-handedly defeat his sister for the throne. Still others swore, with " verified accounts from reliable eye-witnesses", that it was a lone waterbender, another prodigy from the cowardly Water Tribe of all places, that had managed to outwit and outmaneuver the Fire Nation's pride and joy, but that was the unlikeliest story of all. Surely their new sovereign could not be so foolish to think that another nation would help him gain the throne without expecting something devastating in return?

"Utterly ridiculous!" loud Mrs. Lau had spluttered as she shuffled the Pai Sho tiles. "I always knew the Royal Family was ambitious, but not one of them would ever do something so reckless! Especially not Fire Lord Zuko, bless his little heart!"

"I don't know about  _that_ ," Mrs. Wu said through a sip of tea. "It certainly would explain a lot about the poor state of our lives, don't you think?"

"Careful, Wu. Say that too loudly and you'll end up as meat for prisoners like poor Mrs. Yao!"

"That Zuko is no good, no good at all! Not like his sister!" Widow Chung muttered over her spectacles. "It's a shame no one knows what happened to her...she'd never let the Earth Kingdom humiliate us like this. Why, I bet she'd rule circles around that silly little prince! Like that time at the tournament—"

"The day a woman sits on the Fire Lord's throne is the day I eat my hat," Mrs. Wu snorted. "Heaven forbid we get anything more sensible than a prettyboy coward or vicious warmonger up there...Pass me the tea, will you, Jiao?"

Even more unclear were the specifics of what happened after Azula's defeat. Fire Lord Zuko's first act as Fire Lord was to declare an end to the war, which made everyone more confused than relieved. They had always been at war, it was all their economy was built on, and it was all they had ever known. For it to be over so suddenly, and to not come out as the clear victor after all this time...Jiao couldn't help but feel resentful about it.

The Fire Lord's second act was to outlaw the time-old tradition of Agni Kai. The official reason was because it was cruel, but everyone else, especially Widow Chung, just thought it was to prevent Azula from coming back and attempting to reclaim her rightful throne. His third act was to have the former Fire Lord Ozai officially arrested for his crimes, and no one, not even opinionated Mrs. Lau, knew what to make of that.

No one was really sure what happened to Princess Azula. Fire Lord Zuko didn't make an official statement regarding her status, so of course rumors abounded, ranging from her death to a complete mental breakdown. In any case, the once-banished Prince Zuko had managed to ascend to the throne of Fire Lord, Ozai was in prison along with almost the entirety of his cabinet, advisors, and the Imperial Army, and Jiao was certain she had passed a catatonic Princess Azula being wheeled to her cell in the hallway of the mental facility.

That was a year ago, and every day after that had only confirmed the rumor that the Princess Azula was being hidden away in the confines of the facility, where she escaped prosecution from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes for her war crimes. Whether or not she was actually insane, no one knew, and some of her fellow nurses had begun to suspect it was simply a rumor started by the Fire Lord himself in order to de-legitimize any claim she had to the throne.

Whatever the truth was, Jiao had a feeling she was about to find out, now that she was about to be appointed as Azula's official caregiver. She was almost sad she couldn't let anyone know; Widow Chung would be green with envy.

She arrived for work as usual, though she had taken a little extra time that morning to make sure her uniform was perfectly ironed and her bun was perfectly tight. She was going to be in the presence of royalty, after all. Jiao had never met a royal before, not officially, but she knew it was the highest honor for a commoner such as herself, and widely considered the closest thing in this world to being in the presence of divinity. She never really bought into that belief personally, but the reverence of the Fire Lord and his Royal Family, descendants of the great Sozin himself, was as ingrained in her as breathing.

Jiao was taken into the meeting room specially designated for very important visitors where Du Yi, several Imperial Soldiers, and Fire Lord Zuko himself were waiting for her. She had never been in the elite meeting room before, but like all the private rooms on the first floor, it looked pretty much the same. Clean tiled floors, mahogany furniture, and a single scroll painting of flowers hanging on the wall. Jiao didn't know why Du Yi loved those paintings so much, but shortly after he arrived, they had popped up everywhere.

"Please rise," the Fire Lord said.

"Yes, Fire Lord Zuko." Jiao rose to her feet, making sure to keep her head bowed in his presence at all times. Peasants were never to look upon royalty; never to sully regal vision with their common visages.

"It's all right," Fire Lord Zuko said softly. "You can look at me. I don't abide by these outdated rules and customs. I'm not my father."

Jiao's eyes remained trained on the floor. Was he testing her?

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly lifted her head up and gazed upon royalty for the first time that day.

_He has kind eyes_ , was her first thought. They were golden, and a little hardened, but warm. Then she noticed the fabled scar, which confirmed all the stories she'd heard of Fire Lord Ozai's cruelty and the young prince's banishment.

It also confirmed all the questions she had regarding his legitimacy to the throne.

Fire Lord Zuko smiled deliberately, and she quickly looked away. She must have been staring at him.

"Nurse Jiao, you will do as your sovereign commands," Du Yi commanded sternly.

"It's okay, doctor. It's hard to defy custom, sometimes," the Fire Lord continued. "But you  _will_  need to get used to looking at royalty, Nurse Jiao, if you're going to be my sister's caregiver."

"I will do my best, your Highness," Jiao said with a slight bow.

The Fire Lord smiled. "I'm sure you will."

He didn't fit her picture of royalty at all. The Royal Family was thought to be descended from dragons, and the Fire Lord was the living embodiment of the divine will of the Heavens.

But this was just a young boy. He stood rigidly, almost too rigidly, like when a little child used to slouching in his seat suddenly stands upright in an attempt to make himself appear bigger and older. And despite his fine silken robes, which looked like they cost the entirety of Jiao's annual salary, he didn't seem very comfortable. He was young, though he had obviously still seen his share of hardships. That much she could tell, from the glint of weariness of his eyes. He had an air of power about him, like most firebenders, but it seemed different from them. Stronger, somehow, but restrained. As if his every breath could suddenly turn the room to ash if he wanted, but he struggled actively against doing so.

Even so, he was still just a boy. Her son would be about his age, if he…

"Please excuse us, doctor. I'd like to have a moment in private with Nurse Jiao."

Jiao froze. Her first time meeting royalty, and she was already going to have a private meeting with him? She breathed deeply and slowly, trying her best not to fidget under his golden gaze.

"Of course, your Highness. I'll be outside when you need me."

The doctor left quickly and Zuko dismissed the Imperial Soldiers with a mere nod. The room suddenly felt very, very big.

"Please, have a seat." Zuko gestured to the empty seat next to Jiao as he took his own across the table. She nodded quietly and sat. "You know why you're here, right?"

"Your Highness wishes that I be Princess Azula's personal nurse."

Fire Lord Zuko nodded, glancing down at the stack of papers on the table before him. "Yes. And in order to do that, you must understand a few things. My sister and I do not have the greatest relationship in the world…things between us have been... _tense_. Since childhood. And especially now that I'm Fire Lord. But I do care about her, and will only provide her with the best care available."

Jiao nodded silently, and the Fire Lord continued. He spoke slowly, as if he were choosing his words carefully and deliberately, like a student terrified of misspeaking during a class presentation.

"I don't doubt the capabilities of Dr. Yi, but he was not appointed by me. Even though the war is over, it does not change the fact that he is from the Earth Kingdom. I may not care about his nationality, but my sister…is not so forgiving. She doesn't trust easily, and she's very… _unwell_. I'd feel better if I knew that she had someone to look out for her. Someone who understands our nation and our people."

Jiao nodded again. She was a lifelong resident of the Fire Nation, and despite her misgivings about the war and Fire Lord Ozai's propaganda, never once had her allegiance to her ruler and country ever faltered.

Her husband and son had died for it, after all. It couldn't have been for nothing, no matter what cynical Mrs. Wu said.

"If you're going to care for my sister, I will need assurance of three things from you. The first…your utmost loyalty, no matter what happens. No matter what she says or does to you, you are to remain loyal to your nation. If not for her sake, then for mine. If not for my sake, then for the sake of your people. Do you understand?"

Jiao nodded. Her loyalty was already a given.

"Good. The second…your discretion. You are not to speak a word about my sister to anyone else. You will not tell them who you treat or anything about her, no matter what they do to you."

Jiao paused. She had no family to talk to about her day, so her casual silence was assured, and she didn't actually enjoy taking part in the gossip with the hens in the Pai Sho club. But it was that last bit that concerned her.

"My family has many enemies. Between my sister and myself, we have more than I would like to admit. But rest assured that, as her nurse and caregiver, you will be provided with the best protection I can offer," the Fire Lord said with nod and a smile carved out of wood. "Don't worry. They're very sneaky. You'll hardly notice them in your day-to-day life."

She offered a weak smile.  _Too bad_ , Jiao thought. She could really use some company after her weeknight shifts ended and she returned to her very empty home.

"The last thing I will need from you…is your compassion," the Fire Lord said at last. His hard gaze softened slightly, and though he was right in front of her, he looked like he was worlds away. "Life hasn't been easy for me. And it took me a long time to realize this, but it hasn't been kind to her, either. Not many have been. I would appreciate it if someone was."

Jiao furrowed her brow. They were the Royal Family. She wondered what sorts of unkindnesses they had been forced to face. But if there was one thing she prided herself on, it was her compassion. And she knew a damaged person when she saw one.

The Fire Lord himself was quite damaged, but his wounds were mostly healed. Scar tissue, she called it, ironically enough.

"Do you think you can handle that?"

Jiao smiled. "It would be my honor, Fire Lord Zuko."

It was his turn to nod silently. The Fire Lord then diligently went over all aspects of his sister's care and produced another agreement for her to sign, even more confidential and ironclad than the last one. She read over it carefully and, not wanting to keep the Fire Lord from his lordly duties, whatever those were, signed it quickly.

At that, Fire Lord Zuko collected the agreement, reviewing it for completion, and tucked it into his robes. He rose as if to depart.

"Wait! Uh…I mean…your Highness," Jiao stammered uncharacteristically. "Shouldn't I meet Princess Azula before you decide I am to care for her?"

The Fire Lord forced a polite smile. "No need. You came very highly recommended."

With that, he left, leaving her alone with the doctor and her confusion.

"Well, now that that's settled," the doctor smiled his toothy grin. There was something about him that Jiao found peculiar. Most people she met seemed damaged, but the doctor seemed…clean _._  Almost  _too_  clean, as if he had been scrubbed raw. "Why don't we go meet your new patient? I'm sure you're just dying to meet her."

Jiao followed the doctor as he led her down, down, down into the lower depths of the facility, where she had never been allowed to go before.

"Now, I know you're familiar with all our rules, nurse, but I think now would be a good opportunity to remind you of a few regarding our own little princess," the doctor said with a smile that was so sweet it was almost patronizing. "I'm sure the Fire Lord briefed you, but it doesn't hurt to have it come from your direct superior."

She nodded in agreement. She had followed orders her whole life, from her father and her husband and her son and her teachers and the other doctors and the Pai Sho club, but she knew it never hurt to have the rules outlined clearly, no matter how well she already knew them.

"Excellent. Now, as you know, Azula is on a strict regimen of various medicines. They help her achieve some semblance of stability and calmness. She is not to miss a single dose, no matter the circumstances."

Standard procedure. "I understand, doctor."

"Good. Now about her mealtimes…her meals are specially prepared for her and only her. You are to ensure that she eats every last bite. If she does not, you will alert me right away. Is that clear?"

Not standard procedure, because normally when a patient didn't want to eat they weren't forced to, but who was Jiao to argue? She'd never cared for royalty before, and the doctor had far more experience in the field of mental health than she did.

"Yes, doctor."

"Good. And you must know, if she ever acts out in any way, or displays any sort of strange behavior, you are to alert me at once. Understood?"

"Yes, doctor."

"Excellent. Now, this last rule is very, very important. Whatever you do," Dr. Yi said, his normally cheerful eyes suddenly hard and piercing. "Do not converse openly with her."

Jiao bit back a frown at the strange demand. It was customary for her to speak to all her patients, particularly the more troubled ones, as she usually had a calming effect on them. To not do so seemed like shirking her responsibility as a caregiver.

"Azula is not like other patients," Dr. Yi continued, as if reading Jiao's mind. "She can be very…deceptive. And convincing. I'm sure you've heard the stories."

She had, in fact, heard the multitude of stories and rumors surrounding the Princess Azula and her many accomplishments, but like her father's outlandish propaganda, Jiao had never given them very much credence. How could a fourteen-year-old girl possibly conquer the legendary bastion of Ba Sing Se with only the help of a juggler, a Prince, and a circus clown?

"I enjoy speaking with my patients. I've been told it can help with the more troubled cases."

"I understand, but Azula is a very, very troubled young woman. She will get inside your head if you let her…so I urge you not to let her. Chatting about the weather is fine, but do not, under any circumstances, tell her anything personal about yourself."

Jiao was not one to take the advice of superiors lightly, so she nodded in reply.

The doctor smiled and opened the door to the padded cell before gesturing for her to go inside. Jiao swallowed, attempting to steady herself as much as possible. She had listened to all the warnings, reviewed the very strict rules, and even re-read every journal article and piece of propaganda about the Princess Azula she'd squirreled away over the years, all in preparation for today, when she would finally meet her new patient…her new patient that apparently needed to be kept in isolation on the very bottom floor, locked behind a reinforced metal door, like some sort of wild, untamed beast.

Jiao entered the room, half-expecting to see a mythical monster chained to the floor and muzzled.

What she saw instead was a girl.

Not just any girl, but  _the_  girl. The girl who had once been held as the gold standard for all children across her great Nation. The girl whose name was synonymous with words 'prodigy' and 'gifted' and 'blessed'. The girl with extraordinary blue flames, renowned intellect, and unsurpassed beauty, whose very existence was heralded as just one of many examples of Fire Lord Ozai's divine right to rule.

She never really believed in any of that, not like Widow Chung.

Golden eyes, similar to but so very different from Fire Lord Zuko's, flitted up from the floor to meet Jiao's, and Jiao suddenly found herself believing in all of it.

_They glitter,_ she thought. Like everything else was a pale imitation of true gold in comparison.

The girl smiled pleasantly, not stiffly or forcibly as her brother had done, and Jiao suddenly found herself thinking the chains and manacles very unnecessary.

"Azula, this is your new caregiver, Nurse Jiao. You might have seen her around the facility before," the doctor said with a big smile. "I'll leave you two alone to get acquainted."

The doctor exited the room, but remained standing outside the door. Perhaps he didn't trust her fully yet, but Jiao was sure that would change with time.

She stared at her new patient for a moment, her mind flooded with questions. She had never been in the presence of royalty before today, and after meeting the Fire Lord, she had believed they were not so much different from normal people. A little more powerful, a little more imposing, a lot more commanding, but nothing so special as divinity.

But now she knew that that was not the case. Widow Chung might not have been exaggerating.

"Hello, Princess," Jiao said as calmly as she could, remembering where she was and who she was in front of and bowing deeply. "I'm going to be taking care of you from now on."

The princess smiled again.

"Hello, Nurse Jiao," the princess said softly, inclining her head slightly as a sign of respect. She was bound in chains, yet moved more effortlessly than her brother, who was bound in silk. "I'm looking forward to your care…I will warn you, I can be a bit of a handful at times. My sincerest apologies for giving you any trouble in advance."

"It's quite all right, Princess. I'll do my best to care for you."

"I'm sure you will. And please," she continued, still smiling easily. "Call me Azula."

Jiao smiled back, feeling oddly relieved for the first time in days.

"As you wish, Azula."

Maybe there was nothing to worry about, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, everyone should thank my awesome beta reader touzen, because without her help, this chapter never would have seen the light of day.
> 
> Secondly, I apologize for the ridiculously long delay between the last chapter and this one. Holidays and personal matters got in the way, but I'm back now and I hope to be cranking out chapters at a more even pace from now on.
> 
> Thirdly, this chapter, chronologically, takes place one year before the main events of this fic. I know it's confusing, but I thought we needed a little bit of backstory and exposition from an outsider's POV.
> 
> Fourthly, the next few chapters are chronologically out of order. I know every chapter until this point has been pretty straightforward, but this won't be the case for the next three, so keep that in mind when reading.
> 
> Fifth and lastly, I hope you guys have been paying attention to all the little clues and subtext I've dropped in every chapter up until now, because things are about to get real.
> 
> As always, thank you all so much for reading. You guys are awesome. Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll keep writing.
> 
> Next up, we'll finally get to see what's really been haunting the asylum…Spoiler Alert: It's not ghosts.


	12. The Magician

Tap, tap, tap…

_Stratagem #7 from the Manual of War: Create something from nothing._

Azula was a magician.

They were the world's greatest liars, after all; able to make the general public believe the impossible to be reality and the truth to be untrue.

Through the use of suggestion, misdirection, sleight of hand, and showmanship, as well as an arsenal of specially designed effects and a good sense of timing, magicians could create something from nothing, and nothing from something.

Tap, tap, tap…

Azula could do the same, of course, but solely with words and without the aid of flashy mirrors and billowing smoke. She was a master of deception, because deception was the very essence of warfare. And if there was one thing Azula was good at (actually, she was good at pretty much everything… _exceptionally good_ , for that matter), it was war.

And Azula was always at war.

Tap, tap, tap…

It hadn't always been this way. There was a time, for five years or so, when Azula possessed the kind of conviction that only came with the belief in her heavenly mandate, that with all her superior intellect and worth came a divine right to claim the title of Fire Lord and rule her great nation.

And now her worthless brother sat on her throne while she wasted away in the shadows.

Well, no matter. There was no use dwelling on the past. Especially not when all her pieces were in finally falling into place.

Tonight, everything was going to change.

In the middle of the room, Azula stood tall, breathing steadily, her hands folded calmly behind her back. She was perfectly still, save for the rhythmic tapping of a finger against her manacles.

Tap, tap, tap…

Within the dark, windowless walls of her padded cell, there were precious few indicators of the passage of time. Hours could bleed easily into days, days blurred into weeks, weeks into months, months into two miserable years.

She used to count the candles, knowing that it took precisely one hour for a full one to burn down to the wick. But the doctor soon discovered her method and began varying the candles' length, before moving her to an electric cell altogether.

It was a favorite game of his; testing all the various ways he could wrest control from his patients and substitute it with his own. He would arbitrarily take away Min's notebook, which Min, being a traumatized mute, sorely needed in order to communicate with most other people. He would find various ways to wreak havoc on the impeccable garden of Sie, who, despite his failure to grow even a single head of cabbage to full size, nevertheless continued to till the earth every single day. And he took particular delight in tormenting the lone prisoner on the fourth level, who, unlike Azula, lost more and more of her resilience with every passing moment.

_Stratagem #2: When the armor seems impenetrable, besiege the gap._

That was the problem with the elderly. The spirit could be strong, but the body was frail. And the mind was not nearly as impervious as Azula had once believed it to be. Luckily, hers wasn't nearly as malleable as the doctor believed it to be, either.

_Stratagem #27: Feign madness, but maintain your balance._

For now, Azula had regained her steady footing in secret, but she knew it would not last. Time ravaged all things, she realized, and could easily and willingly make fools of us all.

Which was why it was so important to keep track of it.

Without the candles, or the sun, or the stars and the moon and the sky, it was difficult to ascertain the time, but not impossible. It certainly was not impossible for Azula, who could tell just from the postures and gestures of the guards that it was either morning, noon, or night. From there she simply had to make note of the changes in shifts, which were divided according to early morning, late morning, early noon, afternoon, evening, night, and late night. And in between all that, she tapped.

Tap, tap, tap…

A single tap for every beat of her own heart, which, in spite of its other supposed shortcomings, was as good a timekeeper as any mechanized time-telling device. She found it ironic, to say the least, to be measuring out her every moment entirely in heartbeats. That was its true purpose, after all; a mere physical instrument within oneself that steadily ticked away the passing seconds of one's life. But nowadays, the heart had been repurposed and relegated to being in charge of other, more metaphysical matters, matters not governed by the mind. The mind, which Azula had once considered all-powerful with all its logic and reason, was the very same mind that had failed her spectacularly. And the heart, which Azula had once considered a mere nuisance with all its trifling emotions, was the only steady thing she had left to cling to.

Well, mostly steady. Her heart rate slowed when meditating or under the influence of the doctor's horrible poisons, and increased when she performed her self-imposed daily fitness regimen in the haunting hours of the night.

It also increased in the presence of a certain individual who had been by to see her these past three days, the same individual that she was expecting to arrive any heartbeat now.

Tap, tap, tap…

The change in her heartrate was…inexplicable, Azula had decided. She couldn't quite identify what caused it, or perhaps she did not truly want to, the thought of which was a conundrum all on its own. It was vexing, and it put Azula ill-at-ease. Very much like the individual in question herself.

Azula was seldom ill-at-ease, even now, as she stood in the windowless, lightless confines of the solitary cell, waiting.

She was always waiting, like a spider in its carefully constructed web.

_Stratagem #4: Bide your time while the enemy labors._

Why go through all the trouble of chasing after your prey when it would simply come to you willingly? She'd heard the alarms go off over 300 heartbeats ago; it was bound to happen any moment now.

"Azula?" came the familiar voice from the other side of the door. The metal window in the door scraped open, and a beam of light cut through the darkness of her solitary cell.

Azula smiled.

"Ty Lee," Azula said, allowing her eyes to adjust to the new source of light before turning around to face her new visitor. "Right on time."

"Azula,  _what_  is going on?!" Ty Lee demanded. Ty Lee had been uncharacteristically irritable for their past couple of interactions, and Azula could tell she was even more agitated now. As well she should be, really.

"Why, Ty Lee, don't you know?" Azula asked innocently, blinking with mock surprise. She supposed she  _could_  answer Ty Lee's questions directly, but where was the fun in that? "You've spent so much time in the circus. You'd think you'd recognize a disappearing act when you saw one."

Suggestion.

"Disappearing act? Wha—?" Ty Lee furrowed her brow. "Wait…you don't mean—"

"Yes, Ty Lee," Azula continued, smirking lightly. "For one night, and one night only, the Princess Azula will attempt a  _death-defying_  escape from her underground tomb."

Showmanship.

Ty Lee's mouth hung slightly agape.

"With the help of her lovely assistant, of course," Azula smiled.

Misdirection.

"Whoa, whoa,  _whoa_. Hold on just a second there, missy. If you think I'm going to help you  _escape_ …"

"Well, isn't that why you're here?" Azula asked, one eyebrow raised. "Why  _else_  would you come all the way out to  _solitary confinement_  in the middle of the night?"

"Because you  _told_  me to!" Ty Lee protested, before pausing. Azula did her best not to chuckle as Ty Lee smacked herself in the face with a gloved hand. She was wearing the Fire Nation's customary stealth garb, an all-black outfit usually worn by covert operators and reconnaissance spies. For some reason, the sight of Ty Lee dressed in black was not as unnatural as Azula would have thought.

"Oh… _oh_. I…I can't believe—ugh, I'm such an  _idiot_!  _Why_  did I ever think it was a good idea to listen to  _you_ , of all people—"

The way Ty Lee intoned  _you_ , with such reverential disdain, would have normally made Azula pause, but there were more important things to worry about right now.

_Stratagem #45: Do not lose sight of the carp in pursuit of the guppy._

"Now, now, Ty Lee. Don't be so hard on yourself. You're not  _that_  much of an idiot if you managed to decipher my messages," Azula offered in her most soothing voice. As interesting as it was to watch Ty Lee regard herself harshly for once, a self-hating teenage girl was of little use to her right now. "But you  _are_  an idiot if you haven't figured at least  _some_  things out by now."

Azula never really was very good at comforting others.

Ty Lee's hands curled into tight fists and her arms went rigid. They trembled, like a pair of chopsticks in the hands of a child. She glared at Azula, and Azula could see the thundering in her eyes; the inner conflict raging inside her. The old Ty Lee, the one that Azula knew, desperately wanted to help. The new Ty Lee, the stranger, desperately wanted to leave.

It seemed Azula wasn't the only one still at war these days.

Ty Lee exhaled deeply, then met Azula's gaze with steely resolution. That was more like the Ty Lee Azula knew. "Before I can consider helping you, you need to answer my questions."

"Did I say I needed your help?"

"You didn't have to." There was a small smile on the corners of her lips. Azula momentarily lost track of the seconds. "Your messages did it for you."

_Stratagem #10: Hide a knife behind a smile._

Azula smiled back.

"Fair enough. I'll answer your questions…" Azula said lightly, casually looking at her nails. "…In due time. We have company."

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Ty Lee whipped her head in the direction of the stairwell, then down the hallway that looked like it went nowhere. She turned back to Azula, her wider-than-usual eyes searching for an order, a command, advice, anything.

Azula listened closely to the gait. It was light and eager, too light to be a guard, too excited to be an orderly.

"An ally," Azula assured, and Ty Lee calmed slightly. Right on cue, Min appeared around the corner, more energetic than Azula had ever seen her, a loop of keys in hand.

Perfect timing.

Azula stepped back and Min unlocked the door while Ty Lee stood by and watched, dumbstruck. Min entered the cell without hesitation, but Ty Lee lingered behind.

"Status report," Azula commanded. The familiar phrase, uttered once again after all this time, was natural and empowering. A small burst of nostalgia and adrenaline coursed through her.

Min nodded firmly and began tapping out her message on the metal door.

"Excellent," Azula smirked at the news, and Min smiled back eagerly. She was no soldier, merely the mute daughter of some mundane upper middle-class print publisher whose publications Azula had never touched, much less read. Her father had ventured out to the freshly formed Fire Nation colonies during the last years of the war, in search of some great scoop that was bound to make his career, when their settlement was attacked by brutish Earth Kingdom rebels who just didn't know when to quit. They had survived the attack, as fate or luck or some higher, if not lower, power might have it, but not without paying a price. Min was damaged; broken, as Azula might have been, were she as weak and pathetic, and though Min lived, her sanity and voice became yet another one of the millions of casualties of the Hundred Year War.

When the doctor looked at Min with his scavenging eyes, he saw only the extraordinary opportunity to experiment on a patient that simply could not talk back. That made her the ideal specimen to work on after his fruitless and often emasculating sessions with Azula.

But when Azula looked at Min, she saw something else entirely.

Desperation. Resilience. Hatred of the doctor.

_Stratagem #23: Befriend a neighbor to defeat a common foe._

But most of all, Azula saw in Min a certain familiarity. She reminded her of something.

A weapon. Of debatable caliber, likely low to mid-range, but a weapon nonetheless.

Min had not a single drop of nobility anywhere in her bloodline, and was certainly not the type of person Azula would normally deign to associate herself with. But Min was a longtime resident of the facility, and she was well-liked by the staff and other patients, and as such, well-connected.

_Stratagem #32: The lowest bricks, joined together, solidify the foundation._

Azula was not used to having to ingratiate herself to others, certainly not to someone like Min, who had gone through trauma that was quite literally unspeakable, and as a result, had a multitude of defenses. But Min, much like her nurse, was also powerless, oft overlooked, and thoroughly trodden upon. And those without power always sought out the approval and protection of those with.

Azula had power. Her very name, her legacy, her reputation, preceded her. She was the former Crown Princess of the Fire Nation. Daughter of Fire Lord Ozai. A child prodigy. Champion of her people. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se.

The only problem was, she was now considered insane, and all her titles and properties had been stripped from her. Her name was all she had left. She had gone from being the paragon to which all children should strive for, to the cautionary tale; the monster hiding under your bed, the bogey man coming to claim the naughty ones in the night. She was the fable, the moral of the story, the warning to all those who misbehaved.

She was the dragon.

But even the mentally ill need to have a sovereign, and what better sovereign would there be for the unhinged than one as supposedly deranged as themselves?

_Stratagem #24: To befriend a neighbor, find common ground._

And so, Azula added Min to her arsenal, and the rest of the pawns followed.

Outside of these walls, Min was nobody. She was nothing, a speck of dust that wouldn't have even warranted the attention of the cleaning staff. But here, within the walls of the asylum, Min had been one of her staunchest supporters and greatest allies, and beggars like Azula could not be choosers.

"Did you bring it?" She spoke in soothing tones to Min, because for some reason her inability to speak would cause others to yell at her louder, as if that would somehow make communication easier. It irritated Min to no end, because she was mute, not deaf, and was possessed of sufficiently good hearing. People were utter morons, but that suited Azula and her purposes just fine. It made Min appreciate Azula's kindness (unlike so many others in Azula's life, on whom she'd wasted such truly precious commodities as patience and goodwill) which in turn bred loyalty.

Commanding loyalty through kindness was not nearly as fun as commanding through fear, and only time and experimentation could tell whether or not it was as effective.

Min nodded and presented an overly-polished letter opener to Azula. She took it carefully, turning it in the light. The engraved characters reading "Ba Sing Se University" gleamed, like Azula's eyes.

_Stratagem #3: Slay with a borrowed knife._

Nobody or not, Min had not failed Azula yet.

"…Will someone  _PLEASE_  tell me what is going on?"

"Oh, how rude of me. Ty Lee, this is Min. Min, Ty Lee. I'd have introduced the two of you sooner, but being in here tends to dull one's common courtesy."

Min turned back to Ty Lee and bowed silently. Ty Lee simply stared at her.

"See? Less than an hour and you've already lost all your manners." Azula paused, listening to the thuds of strong, determined footsteps echoing from the direction of the stairwell. "I'd let you two get acquainted, but we're about to be discovered."

Min and Ty Lee snapped to attention as the footsteps grew louder. They turned to Azula instinctually for guidance.

"Close the window and conceal yourselves in here, quickly. Stay still and they won't see you in the darkness."

Min nodded. Azula watched Ty Lee think. Consider. Weigh her options. There had been a time where Ty Lee would have followed Azula's orders without a moment's hesitation, but those days were long gone.

Like so many heartbeats.

Ty Lee gave a grunt of frustration and quickly closed the window before entering the room and shutting the door behind her, bathing them all in darkness. There, nothing was visible, but by the sound of it, Min had grabbed Ty Lee and absconded to the darkest corner.

Azula turned away from where she knew the door to be and sat down on the floor, breathing calmly. She tucked the letter opener loosely into the folds of her robe.

Sleight of hand.

Less than a minute later, she heard the scraping of a key being jammed into the lock and wrenched forcefully. The iron door burst open, and light poured in once more.

"Is my time in solitary over already?" Azula asked innocently, turning her head slightly over her shoulder to see her newest guests.

Two earthbender guards strode forward and grabbed her by her arms, spinning her around and simultaneously pulling her to her feet. Du Yi strode forward purposefully, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. He looked positively shaken.

" _What did you do_?" he hissed through his teeth, eyes ablaze and nostrils flaring.

Azula smiled.

_Stratagem #15: Entice the dragon to leave its lair._

"You're going to have to be a little more specific."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone keep thanking my beta reader touzen, because without her help, these chapters would be unreadable!
> 
> Secondly, the "52 Stratagems from the Manual of War" are loosely based on the Thirty-Six Stratagems from the Book of Qi and the basic principles found in Sun Tzu's Art of War. I took creative license with them, so don't sass me on how they're not actually a thing.
> 
> Also, a reminder that the next few chapters are chronologically out of order. Just be patient, you'll see where this goes.
> 
> This is the first time we see Azula interact with anyone from her point of view, so it's a little different from her other chapter.
> 
> And finally, thanks to everyone who reads/follows/reviews this story. I hope you continue to read and enjoy.
> 
> The next chapter is in the process of being re-written. I hope to have it ready sometime before the end of the month.


	13. The Three-Ring Circus

_Good things came in threes._

_Ty Lee wasn_ _’t sure about things that came in sevens, like her and her sisters, but she knew good things always came in threes._

_There were three parts to a sandwich. Circuses had three rings. Every day had a morning, noon, and night. Every morning: breakfast, noon: lunch, and night: dinner. Stories had beginnings, middles, and ends. The coolest, prettiest, smartest girls in the Fire Nation were Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula._

_Ty Lee always imagined the three of them could run away from it all and start their own circus. She would be the beautiful, death-defying acrobat, and Mai would be the sad clown with happy makeup painted on her face._

_As for Azula, Ty Lee wasn_ _’t sure what she would be, as there wasn’t really anything Azula couldn’t do. If she wanted to tame lion-vultures, she could probably tame lion vultures. If she wanted to juggle flaming batons, she could probably juggle flaming batons. If she wanted to do a handstand on a unicycle on top of a camelephant while balancing a dozen porcelain plates on a chopstick in her mouth…well, she probably couldn’t do that, but it was a silly mental image that always made Ty Lee giggle._

_“What are you laughing at?” Azula asked._

_“Nothing! Just thinking of the circus!”_

_“Again? Well, quit daydreaming and help me put these stink beetles into the lantern.”_

_Ty Lee was often thinking about the circus, but that was because she loved it so much._

_She loved lots of things, actually. She loved animals, candy, rain, sunlight, nighttime, candy, dirt, grass, wind, candy, pink, pink candy, clothes, sugar cakes, candy, shiny jewelry, soft things, makeup, and did she mention candy? Because Ty Lee loved candy._

_But she really loved the circus._

_The circus was always bright and cheery, even when everything else was gloomy. The circus had music and dancing, even when it was banned everywhere else. The circus was wild and chaotic, but at the same time it was tamed and controlled. The circus was dangerous and exciting, and it made her heart beat like nothing else had ever done before, and she was sure there was nothing else that would ever do it again._

_But above all else, the circus was freedom. It was a momentary sanctuary from the dreariness and disappointment in her everyday life. For that reason, it was like a third home to her, after her grandparents_ _’ house and the Azula’s villas in the Imperial Palace. Her grandparents used to take her and her sisters to the circus every year, before they grew too weary to handle the seven little devils on their own. The first year time they’d gone, they practically had to drag Ty Lee, high on candy and excitement, back home, even though the sun had long set and even the workers were retiring for the evening. And every day after that, she would sneak away from her daily lessons to the courtyard, where she’d close her eyes and pretend she was walking on a tightrope, or jumping through a flaming hoop, or performing a dazzling array of acrobatic stunts. The courtyard became the big top tent, the trees the audience, and the grass the safety net fifty feet below. She would listen to her heart pounding in her chest as her chi aligned itself with her imaginary world and the trees cheered her on. She was in control. She was brave. She was an acrobat. She’d throw herself into the air with gusto, and for those few precious moments, she felt like she was actually flying._

_But then she would open her eyes and find herself on the ground, face full of mud and dirt, body covered in a colorful rainbow of misshapen bruises, and the laughingstock of her more studious sisters._

_“Clumsy Ty Lee! Can’t see her feet! Now she’s got nothin’ but dirt to eat!” they jeered as she wiped the salty streaks of mud from her face with her reddened hands._

_“Not even grandpa will be able to fix your face if you keep falling like that,” Sun Lee said as she shook her head solemnly._

_“You’ll never be an acrobat…and with all those cuts and scrapes, no one will ever want you as a doctor, either,” Ky Lee said snidely, jabbing her finger at the small lump forming above Ty Lee’s eyebrow._

_“She’d have to actually do her homework to be a doctor…” Jun Lee muttered under her breath, not even bothering to look up from her textbook._

_“You’ll never amount to anything if you don’t study!” My Lee said, using her talent for parroting others to mimic their father._

_Ty Lee stared at the ground resolutely, dotting the blades of grass with the dirty tears she didn_ _’t want her sisters to see._

_“Mind your own studies first, girls,” came a stern but gentle voice from the veranda. Her sisters scattered to the four winds, and she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “Here, let me take a look.”_

_They went to the closest bathroom, where her grandfather pulled her into his lap. His brown eyes peered through the frames resting on his nose and studiously danced over her face. He clicked his tongue and ran his fingers through his white beard._

_“What are we going to do with you, little Ty Lee?” he said, his twinkling eyes belying the small pout on his creased lips as he reached for a pink washcloth. “If your father sees you like this, he will be very angry with you.”_

_“You mean if he even notices,” Ty Lee mumbled, wincing as the washcloth scrubbed at the dirt that still clung to her face._

_“He’ll certainly notice if you bring home another bad grade. Future doctors don’t get bad grades.”_

_“But I don’t want to be a doctor. I want to be an acwobad!” Ty Lee protested, getting a near mouthful of gritty washcloth in the process._

_“Is that so?” her grandfather asked bemusedly, wrinkles etched by smiles appearing on the edges of his mouth. “Show me.”_

_Ty Lee looked sheepishly at her hands, picking at the dirt underneath her fingernails._ _“I’m…not very good……yet. But I_ **_will_ ** _be._ _”_

_“Well, let’s see it then. Go on.”_

_She nodded and hopped off his lap. She looked at the long stretch of hallway before her and put one foot forward, raising both arms in the air as she conjured the images and sounds of the chaotic circus. Her heart began to race, and she knew she was ready. She took one deep breath and let it go, allowing her body to follow. At once the world became a blur, and she felt her hands touch the coolness of the smooth wooden floors. Now all she needed to do was make sure her legs followed and—_

**_THUMP!!!_ **

_The world spun back into focus, and her grandfather stood over her, clicking his tongue._

_“You think too much,” he said as she scrambled to her feet. “If you want to be the best at anything……doctor, surgeon, acrobat…you cannot think. Those that are truly skilled do not think. They feel. Trust in your instincts and let them to guide you. Understand?”_

_Ty Lee nodded slowly, letting the words sink in._

_“Now, do it again. And this time, do not think.”_

_She took another deep breath and tried to ignore the dull pain thudding in the back of her skull as she gazed down the length of the hallway once more._

_“Do not think. Do not hesitate. Act.”_

_Ty Lee raised her arms in the air and put one foot forward, just as she_ _’d seen the acrobats do._

_“Don’t think. Just act.”_

_The world fell away, and she felt her hands meet the floor, then her feet, then—_

**_THUMP!!!_ **

_“Well…practice makes improvement. Up we go.”_

_One day, Ty Lee would be a great acrobat. That much she was sure of. She would be the greatest acrobat the world had ever seen, and she would join the circus that she loved so much. And even though she wasn_ _’t a big fan of sharing the things she loved with others (having six older sisters who all looked exactly the same will do that to a young girl), she knew everyone could enjoy the circus. So when she heard it was in town again, after years of missing it, she immediately sought out her best friends in the whole wide world and made a brilliant proposal._

 _“No,” Mai said flatly, leaning gloomily against a tree. “I_ **_hate_ ** _clowns._ _”_

_“But I haven’t even gotten to the best part!! There are lion vulture tamers and platypus bears and spun sugar candy and dancing camelephants and ember candy and flying acrobats and puppeteers and candied chestnuts and sword-eaters and fire gummies and firewalkers and rock candy and face-changers and magicians and candied chestnuts and knife-throwers and jugglers and candy and tightrope walkers and candy and cannons and candy—“_

_“The_ **_last_ ** _thing you need is more sugar, Ty,_ _” Mai deadpanned._

 _Undeterred by her stubborn friend_ _’s negativity, she turned to her other, more receptive friend._

 _“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaase?” Ty Lee begged, both hands clasped together. “It’s going to be_ **_so_ ** _much fun, Azula!_   _"_

_“Hmm,” Azula brought a finger to her chin and tapped slowly and thoughtfully. She glanced from Ty Lee’s wide, pleading eyes to Mai’s signature scowl and smiled. “Oh, all right. Let’s all go and see what the fuss is about. We can make a day of it.”_

_“YAAAAY!!!” Ty Lee cheered, leaping forward to tightly embrace the princess as Mai simultaneously let out a long groan. “Ohmygoshwe’regoingtohavesomuchFUN!!!”_

_“Gee, I can hardly wait.”_

_“Oh, cheer up, Glum-Glum. If you’re good, maybe I’ll convince mom and dad to come……they might even bring little Zu-Zu along,” Azula said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye._

_Mai perked up slightly, but said nothing. Azula_ _’s smile deepened._

 _That was the first time Ty Lee went to the circus with Azula and Mai, and the only time she had gone with the rest of Azula_ _’s family. Mai had been less than thrilled at the gallivanting antics of the clowns, especially since, every single one of them, upon meeting the sullen little girl, attempted to get her to smile. Like most people trying to get Mai to crack her perpetual frown, they failed. Luckily, she seemed to take an interest in the skilled jugglers and knife-throwers, who distracted her long enough to make her forget that she was irritated at Ty Lee for bringing them there in the first place._

 _For Zuko, who spent nearly the entire time glued to Princess Ursa_ _’s side (something which seemed to irritate both Mai and his father), the exotic animals were the ones who captured his attention…much to the dismay of Prince Ozai, who urged his son to pay attention to the world’s strongest man instead of the world’s tiniest moose-pony._

 _Then there was Azula, who was neither easily impressed nor readily amused, but surprisingly amenable to being led around by Ty Lee for once. Ty Lee took advantage of Azula_ _’s rare agreeability and eagerly dragged her by the hand all over the circus grounds, determined to show her every single one of her most favorite things._

_“And this is where they make the candymakers make fire gummies, and the fire flakers flake the fire flakes! Ooh, ooh, and here’s where the vulture-lion tamer keeps vulture-lions’ lunches…and this is where the knife-throwers sharpen their knives…and this is where the poop-scoopers scoop the poop!”_

_“Fascinating,” Azula said monotonously. “I’m so glad we trekked all the way out to this filthy little place to watch commoners shovel animal leavings.”_

_“Me too!!” Ty Lee grinned, throwing both her arms around an unflinching Azula. “And we haven’t even seen the best part!”_

_“Wow…this is so cool. Isn’t it cool, Mai?” Zuko asked, staring at a giant camelephant through the bars of its cage. Ursa had gone with Ozai to get snacks for everyone, leaving the children alone together for the first time that day. “I’ve never seen one of these before in person! They say the trainers can even make them dance!”_

_“I dunno,” Mai shrugged, folding her arms across her chest. “I think it’s sad.”_

_Zuko pouted slightly._ _“Why?”_

_“Being all cooped up with nowhere to go…and having to do everything you’re told by some stupid little man……it’s depressing.”_

_“Yeah, well…these things are dangerous out in the wild, so it’s good to keep them behind bars……” Zuko muttered, the tips of his ears tinged with red. He looked up, spying Ty Lee and Azula on the other side of the cage._ “ _Hey Azula! This is where they found you, you know,_ _” Zuko called loudly. “Right here, in this cage. Mom and dad didn’t even want you, but the Ringmaster begged them to take you.”_

 _Zuko looked thoroughly pleased with himself as Mai chuckled. Azula_ _’s eyebrow twitched, and Mai fell silent, looking off to the side._

_“Very funny, Zu-Zu. Come up with it yourself?” Azula asked, her slight frown turning into a smile. “I have a joke, too.”_

_Azula flicked her hand open, unleashing a quick burst of flame inches away from the drinking camelephant_ _’s face. The frightened creature reared itself on its hind legs and drenched Zuko head-to-toe with its watery spray._

_“That’s NOT funny!” Zuko screamed as the girls pointed and laughed._

_“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Azula said with a devious grin. “Mai seems to think it is.”_

_There was a small smirk on Mai_ _’s lips. She shrugged and turned away. “You do look pretty miserable.”_

_“See? You even got Mai to crack a smile. Maybe you should just stay here and become a clown instead of coming home with mom and dad and me!”_

_“YOU’RE the one they’re going to leave here, locked away in a cage where you belong!!” Zuko growled, flinging little droplets of water at Azula as he pointed at her. “Mom!! Look at what Azula did to me!!”_

 _Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa had returned, their arms filled with various sweets and edibles that made Ty Lee_ _’s mouth water. Ozai’s thin mouth became a frown as he caught sight of his soaking wet son, while Ursa’s brow became knit with worry._

_“Oh, Zu-Zu, what happened?” Ursa asked as she deposited her share of the foodstuffs into Ozai’s arms and rushed to Zuko’s side._

_“Azula got me all wet! Look!”_

_“How could I do that? I can’t waterbend!” Azula scoffed, folding her arms across her chest._

_“She made the camelephant do it! She scared it and it sprayed me!!”_

_“Why would something so big be scared of someone so little? Stop lying, Zu-Zu. Besides, you needed a bath. You smell like stink beetles!”_

_“THAT’S YOUR FAULT, TOO!! AND I’M NOT LYING!_ **_YOU_ ** _ARE!_ _” Zuko hollered, his whole face the same shade as a candied apple._

_“Stop it, both of you,” Ursa said sternly. “Azula, apologize to your brother immediately.”_

_“What?? You’re going to believe him, just like that?!” Azula balked._

_“Don’t use that tone with me, young lady. Now apologize or I will send you home right now!”_

_“Fine.” Azula rolled her eyes and turned to Zuko. “I’m_ **_sorry._ ** _”_

_“You don’t mean it! Mom, she didn’t mean it!”_

_“Yes I did!! How would_ **_you_ ** _know, you Dum-Dum??_ _”_

_“Don’t call me Dum-Dum, you…you doo-doo head!!”_

_“_ **_You_ ** **_’re_ ** _the stinky one, not me!_ _”_

 _“_ **_Enough_ ** _,_ _” Ozai commanded, and Ty Lee could have sworn that the entire circus went quiet for a moment. “You’re embarrassing yourselves, and more importantly,_ **_me_ ** _._ _”_

_Azula looked at the ground sheepishly, while Zuko continued to seethe._

_“When you two learn to behave like children befitting of the Royal Family, like your two friends here, you may speak. Until then, I don’t want to hear another word,” Ozai said quietly. “And if I hear the slightest sound from either of you,_ **_neither_ ** _of you will have anything to eat until I say so. Is that understood?_ _”_

_“Yes, father,” Azula said with a nod, looking and sounding very much like the soldiers in the Imperial Army._

_“Dear, don’t you think that’s a little harsh? They’re just children,” Ursa said gently, placing a hand on her husband’s arm._

_“You’re too soft. No son of mine is going to grow up sniveling like a baby every time he gets sprayed with a little water,” Ozai snapped before turning back to Zuko. “The next time someone dares to hurt you, you just hurt them right back. Understand?”_

_“Yes, dad,” Zuko mumbled, looking at the ground._

_“Good. Now, come along. The show is about to begin and we’re the guests of honor. We need to be punctual.”_

_With that, Ozai strode ahead towards the big tent, with Ursa and Mai trailing slightly behind. Ty Lee kept her pace even with Azula, who was walking next to the sulking, soaking wet Zuko._

_“Great, now dad’s mad. I hope you’re happy,” Zuko growled, futilely wringing the water out of his soggy clothes._

_“It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been such a big baby about it.”_

_“I’m not a baby!”_

_“Sssshhhhhh! Shut up, or we’ll both get into trouble!” Azula hissed, nervously peering at her dad._

 _“Since when do you care? What’s the matter,_ **_scared_ ** _?_ _”_

 _“_ **_No_ ** _…shut up, dummy!”_

 _“I’m not worried. Mom will feed me. She_ **_loves_ ** _me. But no one loves you. Not even **dad**._ _”_

_“Whatever. I don’t care about them, anyway.”_

_“Then why do you look so sad, huh?”_

_“Shut up! You can’t even fight your own battles. At least I can take care of myself! You’re nothing without mom, and she’s_ **_not_ ** _going to be around forever. She_ _’s going to_ **_die,_ ** _just like everyone else, and then you_ _’ll have_ **_nobody!_ ** _”_

 _Zuko stopped in his tracks, stunned at the venom that spewed forth from Azula_ _’s mouth. Then, he began to cry._

_“MOM!!!!”_

_Ozai whirled around, eyes looking as if they could melt iron._

_And that was how Ty Lee got **all** the candy._

_*~*~*~*~*_

_The big top tent was Ty Lee_ _’s favorite place to be. It was where all the action happened, and candy aside, the action was the best part of the circus._

_“Wow,” Ty Lee gasped through a mouthful of half-chewed candied chestnuts as a pair of acrobats twirled through the air like the leaves of a propeller tree. She had seen the acrobats before, but never this up close and personal. Being friends with the Royal Family certainly had its benefits. “Do you think that’s what airbending looked like?”_

_“Who cares?” Azula muttered out of the side of her mouth. She was her resting cheek on her right fist and her elbow on the armrest. She would have been sitting on Fire Lord Ozai’s left side, where four thrones had been set out for them by the circus, but as punishment for her misbehavior, she had been placed as far away from her family as possible, and her seat beside Ozai remained unoccupied._

_“…Well, I was curious. It just looks so cool…I can’t imagine what an airbending acrobat would look like!”_

_“You can’t imagine it because they’re all dead, Ty Lee. And do you know why? Because airbending is stupid, and it’s useless compared to firebending. Otherwise the Air Nomads wouldn’t have been wiped out by us all those years ago. It’s not even worth thinking about, especially not by_ **_you_ ** _, since you **never** think._ _”_

_Ty Lee shrank ten sizes in her chair._

_“Well, gee, Azula, I was just curious…I’m sorry…”_

_“Ignore her, Ty. She’s just grumpy because she got yelled at,” Mai explained with a customary roll of the eyes._

_“He started it,” Azula muttered, glaring at her mother and Zuko, who were sitting on Mai’s other side, chatting away happily. Ty Lee watched Azula’s eyes narrow as Ursa discreetly slipped Zuko a box of candied lotus root. For his punishment, he had been denied food by his father, but apparently it was going unenforced. For her punishment, Azula had been forced to sit away from her family and their designated thrones, which there was no way to bypass. “I wish they would both just disappear.”_

_“Laaaaaaaaaadiiiiiiiiiies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Brace yourselves as you prepare to witness the amazing, mysterious, mystifying, magical powers of the Masked Monk, risen from the deepest darkest realms of the Spirit World!”_

_A bright flash, followed by a large cloud of billowing smoke, erupted from the middle of the center ring. The smoke settled and a masked man dressed as an airbender stood in the center, a burgundy cape wrapped tightly around his frame. He unfurled his cape with a flourish, and, laughing wickedly, set off another three explosions as he produced a magical monk_ _’s staff out of thin air. The audience cheered._

_“How many of you believe in magic?” the monk asked, running his trembling fingers through his sharp white beard. Ty Lee’s hand shot up, but she lowered it slightly when Azula did not move. “Ah, yes…I see we have some non-believers in the audience…but I guarantee, by the end of the night, I will have made believers of you all!”_

_The monk twirled his cape in front of his face, and his pale white mask was replaced by the glaring red of a demon_ _’s face. And despite having seen this exact same show at least several times before, Ty Lee still gasped in awe._

 _“It’s just made of layered paper,” Azula scoffed loudly. Ty Lee frowned, suddenly noticing the crinkles at the edge of the monk’s mask that told her Azula was right. As always. “It’s all just misdirection and showmanship,” Azula continued, after thoroughly picking apart the Masked Monk’s teleportation trick. “And even if this kind of magic_ **_did_ ** _exist, I sincerely doubt some lowly circus performer would be privy to all the secrets of the Spirit World._

 _The remainder of the show proceeded in the same vein, with every one of Ty Lee_ _’s favorite magic acts dispelled and debunked by Azula, even the ones that seemed too impossible to be unreal, and too real to be impossible._

_“And now…for my final act…I will require the aid of a volunteer. A beautiful, brave volunteer……”_

 _Ty Lee_ _’s hand would have normally shot up at this point, but today it had remained stationary, folded across her chest under her other arm. Ty Lee had found herself deflating more and more with every trick Azula dissected. Ty Lee had always believed in magic, because it explained everything in the world she didn’t understand, like why the sky was blue, why candy tasted so good, and why one plus one was equal to two. Hearing Azula systematically reduce the magician’s tricks to nothing but a bundle of fancy lies made Ty Lee’s stomach feel like it was filled with lead…or maybe that was all the spicy caramel corn she’d eaten._

 _But there was no way that even Azula could figure out **this** one. Ty Lee had seen this act so many times, and she couldn_ _’t even begin to wrap her mind around how it could possibly be fake. It_ **_had_ ** _to be magic._

_“I understand we have some special guests in the audience,” the devilish-looking Masked Monk chuckled, twisting the end of his beard. With a wave of his hand, it went from white to black, which Azula muttered was due to pre-applied makeup powder. The magician turned towards Ty Lee, and the spotlight fell on their row of VIP seats. Azula, Ty Lee noticed, was now upright in her seat. Suddenly she was prim, proper, and looking ever the princess, even though she had been slouching grouchily mere moments beforehand. Zuko, on the other hand, was fidgeting uncomfortably and clutching onto his mother’s sleeve as if she were about to float away at any moment. Ursa nudged Zuko gently, and he offered up a timid wave to the audience._

_The Masked Monk clapped his hands together and bowed deeply._ _“It is an honor to perform for Prince Ozai and his Royal Family.”_

 _The light re-focused on Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, and the empty throne on Ozai_ _’s other side which was supposed to be Azula’s. Ty Lee watched as Azula tensed ever so slightly, but managed to maintain her poise. Meanwhile, the crowd cheered loudly, almost as if on command. Ozai, perched on the black throne and looking as severe as ever, inclined his head regally._

_“I can think of no better volunteer than a royal one,” the Masked Monk suggested, goading the audience to agree with him with a sweeping gesture of his arms. Ozai’s mouth became a thin line, the way Azula’s always did whenever she was unhappy but didn’t want anyone else to know about it. The Masked Monk seemed to take notice and, thankfully, moved on before it became too awkward. His eyes scanned the remaining two well-lit royals, hovering momentarily on Zuko, who shook like the little magic beans the vendors were selling outside the tent. The Masked Monk stepped forward and extended his hand to Princess Ursa with a flourish._

_“What about the most lovely Princess Ursa? Would you do me the honor of aiding me in my final act?”_

_Ursa smiled courteously and glanced discreetly at her husband, who delivered a curt and subtle nod. She rose from her throne gracefully and took the magician_ _’s hand, allowing him to lead her into the middle of the arena, where his assistants were finishing up the preparations for his final trick. The Monk conversed briefly with Ursa, before handing her off to one of his assistants._

_“This last trick is a terrible display of my mystical powers…I call it, the Taming the Dragon,” the Monk laughed ominously and flourished his cape. “Don’t worry, Prince Ozai…I’ll be sure to return her to you in one piece…or at most, three,” the monk chuckled, but Ozai did not laugh. Zuko sat on the edge of his chair, his hands digging into the armrests._

_The Monk strode to the center of the ring and ascended the stairs of a makeshift platform they had just brought out. In the center of the platform was a large, ornate wooden chair with built-in restraints. The assistants spun the chair around slowly and tugged on the restraints, making sure the audience could see them from all sides. The Monk helped Ursa up the stairs and into the chair, securing her restraints with the aid of his assistants. They pulled her bonds taut and clasped them together with a large, golden padlock. The Monk clicked the padlock shut with a key, which he then promptly swallowed. Zuko gasped._

_“For safekeeping,” the Monk said with a grin, patting his stomach. The audience laughed as he descended from the raised platform and struck a fighting stance, breathing evenly. “Watch, and be amazed…as I unleash the dragon!!” the Monk announced with a threatening laugh._

_With a series of flashy moves, which earned a derisive snort from Azula, the Monk created a giant, twisting dragon from the flames surrounding the arena. The flame dragon circled above the heads of the audience several times, much to their collective delight. Then it began to surround Ursa, its flying in tighter and tighter circles as Ursa smiled nervously._

_“Uh oh…it looks as if the dragon has its eyes set on our dear Princess! But fear not…for I shall tame it!” the Monk laughed, shooting out a flaming lasso with his free hand. The lasso wrapped around the flaming dragons neck, but it continued to fly closer and closer to Ursa. “Urgh…the dragon……is too strong! I can’t control it!”_

_Suddenly, the dragon shot straight up into the air and, turning itself around, began barreling toward Ursa at frightening speed, its fiery jaws open wide. It crashed down onto chair, exploding in a colorful burst of smoke and confetti._

_“NO!” Zuko cried, leaping out of his seat. Azula, on the other hand, had her lips curled in a menacing smile._

_The smoke took a while to settle, as it usually did. Ty Lee could hear the audience gasp, and she knew they were looking at an empty, burning chair, but she was too busy watching Azula_ _’s lips turn down in disappointment._

_“Ladies and gentlemen…a moment of silence for Princess Ursa…and a round of applause!”_

_The spotlight landed near the back of the stadium, where Princess Ursa sat intact, smiling pleasantly and waving. The crowd gasped and clapped and Ty Lee closed her eyes, drinking in the reverence of an adoring audience. Even Zuko jumped up, cheering loudly, before getting pulled roughly back into his seat by Ozai._

_“Of course,” Azula said softly, eyes still focused on her smiling mother, and Ty Lee wondered if, for just a moment, Azula believed in magic, too._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ty Lee knew a magic trick when she saw one. Even now, after all this time, she could hear Azula’s voice lilting in her head.

Suggestion. Misdirection. Sleight of Hand. Showmanship.

Those four principles, above all else, were the most important tools in a magician’s belt. Magicians were just glorified liars, and Azula was no stranger to lies. Ty Lee was no stranger to Azula, and one did not survive years of friendship with her if one couldn’t separate some of the facts from the fiction.

Which is why she knew what Zuko was saying was complete and utter moosebull.

“Ty Lee, I’m afraid that I, as Fire Lord, must forbid you from visiting Azula ever again.” He stood facing the window to the Imperial Garden, watching as a pair of Earth Kingdom soldiers walked by.

Ty Lee’s internal alarms went blaring, the way they always did when she knew something wasn’t quite right.

She had been on her way back to her room, not more than a couple of hours after having spoken with Mai, when An had intercepted her and brought her before Zuko, who looked even more serious than usual. At first she thought it was just nerves due to the presence of Earth General How in the Royal Palace, but then Zuko asked about Azula. The same Azula who had, less than eight hours ago, smuggled out a bottle containing a cryptic message, which raised about a bajillion different questions for Ty Lee, but not _nearly_ as many as the fact that _she had kissed her in order to do it._

Priorities, Ty Lee told herself, as Zuko stared her down a little too hard.

Showmanship, the little voice in the back of Ty Lee’s mind drawled.

“Yes. As Fire Lord, I’m afraid I cannot condone any further visits from you to Princess Azula in any official capacity,” Zuko said loudly, too loudly, before backing away from the window.

Misdirection.

 He opened one of the drawers of his desk and reached inside, pulling out something Ty Lee couldn’t see. He then leaned over and patted her consolingly on the shoulder, dropping the item into her lap before taking a seat once more.

Sleight of hand.

“I’m sorry Ty Lee. Argue as much as you’d like, but the Fire Nation will not be held responsible for the actions of any one individual.”

Ty Lee glanced down at the item in her lap. It was an envelope, and when she picked it up, it was heavier than expected. On the front, in neatly scrawled characters, “Tenth floor. Fifth door from the left. Bottom drawer. Do not be seen.”

She glanced up and her eyes met with Zuko’s. They were as they had always been; open and honest. Even when he was at his most chaotic, even when he was ablaze with turmoil and torment, even though the left one had been almost blinded by pain and anger, his eyes were always earnest. Deceit just wasn’t in his nature.

 _He_ _’s too good to be a liar_ , Ty Lee thought. _He_ _’s not like Azula._

 _He_ _’s not like you,_ the little voice added.

“You can’t do this!” Ty Lee shouted loudly, making sure to maintain eye contact with Zuko as she discreetly tucked the envelope into her garments. There was a fleeting smile in his yes, but she’d seen it, bright as a flame.

Ty Lee knew how to play her part. She’d been trained by the best in the business.

“Yes, I know you’re upset. But I’m afraid my hands are tied. Now, unless you have anything other business to tell me, I think you should get going. You’ll be late for your _late-night shift_ if you don’t,” Zuko said unconvincingly as he looked back down at the haphazard stack of papers on his desk. He picked up his brush and resumed working.

Suggestion.

Ty Lee didn’t have the late-night shift tonight. And Zuko was _not_ a very good magician. Ty Lee would know.

Ty Lee nodded and bowed, exiting the office quickly but casually, making sure not to arouse suspicion from the passing Earth Kingdom guards, who were on high alert now that Earth General How was visiting.

“I-is everything all right?”

Ty Lee didn’t have to turn around to recognize that stutter.

“Um, yeah, of course! Thanks…um…An, was it?” Ty Lee said with a bright smile, spinning around effortlessly to address Zuko’s greenhorn General, who, according to Mai, defaulted into the position face-first by having an important father and just happening to be the eighty-third person on the chain of command, which had been thoroughly broken and dismantled thanks to the efforts of both the Earth Kingdom and the rebel forces.  

“Y-you know my name,” An stammered, his cheeks darkening slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“…Well, yes, Zuko introduced us…and I took over one of your shifts…and you’ve been at every security meeting…” Ty Lee recounted, one eyebrow raised.

“O-oh. Y-yeah. That’s right. Um…Ty Lee, right? It’s just that…I’m not really used to people remembering my name,” the taller man said with a smile that was all nerves with a dash of happiness. The whole man was a ball of nerves, Ty Lee thought dimly, so much so that he reminded her more of the twitching nose of a lop-eared rabbit than a person.

“I can’t imagine why! You’re very memorable,” Ty Lee smiled brightly and took a step back in order to position herself for an easier escape.

Misdirection.

“Really? Thank you! No one’s ever—well, you know,” he said with an awkward chuckle, taking a step forward. Ty Lee fought to keep the smile on her face. “Um…but his Excellency the Fire Lord looked rather serious. I hope everything is all right?”

“Nothing to worry about,” Ty Lee lied as she looked around the hallway in an attempt to display her disinterest, but An seemed both reassured and oblivious.

“Well, if you ever need anything—anything at all—just ask,” he said with a nervous laugh. Ty Lee nodded slowly and craned her neck to look past him. Maybe he would take the hint. Ty Lee’d never been good at saying “no” to people, and even less good at vanishing from unwanted conversations.

“Welp, I gotta get going now. See you around, An,” Ty Lee said cheerfully, taking a step back and then sidestepping An to get past him, even as he pivoted on his heels to constantly face her. She walked backwards for a little bit, nodded slightly at him, then turned around to leave quickly.

“Bye, Ty Lee!!” she heard him cry out behind her. She haphazardly threw up one arm to acknowledge him out of courtesy.

What a weird guy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Black.

The outfit, which she’d acquired from a locked box in Zuko’s old room (located on the tenth floor, fifth door from the left), was _black,_ of all colors.

Dark, shadowy, black. The color of coal and ash. Of night and decay.

It was the color worn by liars and thieves, assassins and murderers, stagehands and spies.

Deceivers all.

And now it hung in her room like a shadow, enticing Ty Lee to transform into one.

Ty Lee had worn dozens of different costumes in her life, but none so dark and utterly… _dramatic._ She briefly wondered whether or not the outfit came in pink, or if it had a cool mask she could wear as an accessory.

That is, if she was even going to wear the get-up in the first place.

Because if she did, that meant she was going to do what apparently both Zuko and Azula wanted her to do. And when _both_ of the royal siblings wanted you to do something, it _had_ to be a sign from the universe.

But Ty Lee had danced, like some sort of well-trained poodle monkey, to the tune of the cosmic melody her whole life, and where had it gotten her? Sitting on a bed next to a set of Zuko’s blueprints, with a scrap of paper from Azula in one hand, the Red Lily tile in the other, and a _black_ uniform staring at her in her painted face. Without thinking, Ty Lee turned to the mirror, hoping to see her own resolve reflected back. Instead, she saw a clownish dullard, an aimless fool, the butt of every other clown’s jokes. Even after two years, Ty Lee could still hardly recognize her own face underneath the thick battlepaint of the Kyoshi Warriors. 

Why her? Why now? Were Zuko and Azula actually working together? Was it just a coincidence? Why couldn’t the royal family just communicate like _normal_ people so she didn’t have to be in this mess?

Ty Lee sighed and stared out her open window. Night had already begun descending on the sky like a heavy curtain, quieting the songbirds as the fire crickets emerged to chirp. She didn’t have much time.

Ty Lee knew how to play her part and she knew how to play it well. And letting down her audience was one of the worst things she’d ever had to do. She’d even surprised herself with how much it had hurt.

But Ty Lee wasn’t a let-down.

_Clumsy Ty Lee._

She wasn’t a screw-up.

 _Can_ _’t see her feet._

She was NOT a clown.

 _Now she_ _’s got nothing but dirt to eat._

She was an acrobat.

She freed herself from the confines of her Kyoshi uniform and let it fall to the floor. If Suki had seen her treating her silk garments in such a haphazard way, Ty Lee would have had extra chores for a week. But Suki wasn’t here.

She slipped on the stealthy black garb, the smooth material sliding silently over her skin. It was roughly her size, if not slightly too big, and Ty Lee mentally noted to yell at Zuko later for the offense.

She rolled up the blueprints she’d obtained from the locked box and carefully tucked it into her belt, along with the hand-drawn map from Azula. The mental facility was at least a half hour’s ride from the Palace, so she’d have time to study the layout of the facility and plan her grand entrance along the way.

She climbed onto the window ledge and looked down. From here she could easily scale down the wall and make her way to the stables, where she could just borrow a mongoose dragon, and—

“Should I even ask?”

Ty Lee whipped around and saw Mai, standing in the doorway, holding a tray of tea and assorted cakes in her hands. She did not look very impressed.

“Mai!” Ty Lee squeaked, then glanced down at herself, crouching on the windowsill. She felt her face grow warm despite the cool night air. “Um…it’s not what it looks like!”

Mai quirked an eyebrow before quickly scanning the room. “Looks like you’re sneaking out to do something. Something you don’t want anyone to know about.”

“…Okay, maybe it _is_ what it looks like, but I can explain—”

“Look, I don’t know what she told you, Ty, but you can’t do this. You have to stand up for yourself. You can’t just blindly follow her orders anymore.”

“I’m not! I have to do this…not just for her, but…” Ty Lee looked down to the ground. If Mai didn’t know what was going on, then that meant Zuko hadn’t told her…but why wouldn’t he? Zuko wasn’t the dishonest type, so if Mai didn’t know, it had to be for a good reason. “But for me, as well!”

Half-lying wasn’t as bad as an outright lie, Ty Lee reasoned, because half of the truth was always better than none at all.

“ _Stop_ ,” Mai said firmly, setting the tray down on Ty Lee’s vanity with a clatter. Her eyes shone like daggers in the spotlight. “Don’t you understand? She doesn’t care about you. She doesn’t care about anyone. She’s just _using_ you, Ty!”

Her words flew at Ty Lee and pierced her somewhere between her ribcage. Ty Lee was a tool. An empty-headed dummy dancing on strings.

She could almost hear Azula’s laughter.

“No, it’s not _like_ that! You don’t understand,” Ty Lee insisted, jumping down from the ledge. She hadn’t been around for two years, so of course Mai wouldn’t understand. She was her own person now. She made her own decisions. She broke her strings the day she struck Azula and however much she thought about doing so, she’d never once looked back.

“I understand. I understand perfectly. For once in your life, Ty, can you _not_ be so stupid?”

Ty Lee stopped.

She was an acrobat. She was a warrior. She was a friend.

But all anyone could ever see was a brainless clown, falling head over heels for crumbs and cheap laughs.

Everyone except one.

Mai’s eyes darkened as she turned away. Mai was her friend. Mai was her _best_ friend. And Mai, for all her prickliness, had never said anything so awful to her before in her life.

“M-Mai…why are you being so mean?”

“It’s for your own good,” Mai replied quietly, still refusing to meet Ty Lee’s gaze. “I’m doing this for your own good. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I won’t let you leave.”

Ty Lee glanced at Mai’s hand. She was holding a bouquet of daggers at the ready.

“Mai…” Ty Lee pleaded, but Mai’s eyes were stubbornly averted. She was running out of time, and Mai could pin her to the wall in a flash.

Don’t think.

Just act.

 “…I’m sorry.”

Ty Lee flew forward and struck Mai three times; once next to each shoulder and once in her right thigh. Mai fell to the ground on one knee, daggers clattering uselessly to the floor beside her, her head slightly bowed. She looked almost as if she was kneeling in deference, and Ty Lee felt her chest grow heavier.

“I’m really sorry. I hope…I hope you’ll forgive me for this.”

Ty Lee had never struck Mai before, at least not without warning, and she only hoped that she would take it better than Azula did. For all their differences, Mai and Azula had more in common in their temperament than either cared to admit. 

“…” Mai remained unmoved.

“Just…just trust me for now. Please. We’ll talk when I get back, okay?”

Mai said nothing, and it took no small amount of effort to turn back towards the window.

“Ty Lee,” Mai managed, her voice soft but strained. “Be careful. Or I’ll kill you myself.” 

Ty Lee turned and offered a small smile before disappearing into the night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ty Lee gazed up the length of the twenty-foot wall in front of her and wondered if she shouldn’t have left her mongoose dragon tied to a tree about a dozen yards away.

Mongoose dragons were fantastic climbers, but Ty Lee was even better.

She scanned the different trees surrounding the area and quickly identified a tall one with a spindly branch growing just a few feet short of the top of the outer perimeter of the facility. With a running start, she jumped and sprung from tree to tree, climbing higher and higher with every bound. With one last leap, she grasped the spindly branch firmly in her hands, as if it were a trapeze, and as she swung herself around to gain momentum she felt the world melt away.

She could almost hear the roar of the crowd as she stuck her landing perfectly on top of the stone wall.

But there was no time to revel in the buzzing chi pumping throughout her body. She crouched down low and watched several small fires, likely torches held by earthbender guards, move back and forth in the distance. She studied their movement patterns and waited until the third fire disappeared from sight once again. Ty Lee launched herself from the wall and sprinted as quickly as she could towards the unguarded side entrance that had been marked on Azula’s map.

She stopped in front of the door, pausing to catch her breath and pull a couple of pins from her hair. Picking locks was a skill Azula had deemed compulsory for her lieutenants, and Ty Lee’s talent for chi-blocking made her almost as good at it as Mai was.

Ty Lee knelt to begin her work on the lock, when the door began to open.

She covered her mouth and rolled quickly to the hinge-side, flattening herself against the wall in the process. The door opened wide enough to obscure Ty Lee from view, and she breathed a small sigh of relief.

“…one _crazy_ day, hasn’t it?”

“Haha, yeah, you can say that again. What a damn mess he’s made of everything.”

“Wonder how he’s gonna talk his way outta this one.”

“You kidding? People like him, they always slip through. They’re dishonest. It’s the good ones that end up behind bars. That’s the times.”

“Careful. They’ll lock you up, too, if they hear you talking like that.”

“Who cares? At least they got rice in prison. Haven’t had rice in weeks.”

“Me neither. Craving was so bad I almost stole the Princess’s food the other day…got chewed out by Jiao for even joking about it.”

“Oh yeah, she’s a real spitfire, that one. But, what do you expect from the Princess’s nurse?”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, thanks for covering for me. Just don’t let the ol’ doc know, alright?”

“No problem. Take care.”

“You too!”

Ty Lee listened as the other guard retreated back into the facility, leaving the door to close unattended behind him. She reached forward, catching the handle just before it clicked shut. She slipped in quickly and quietly, not even daring to exhale, even as the heavy door shut behind her with a loud and echoing clang.

Ty Lee counted several moments in the dark silence before releasing her breath. She crept down the hallway before slowly peeking out around the corners, to make sure the adjacent passage was unoccupied before proceeding.

Not a soul in sight. She took another slow, even breath and conjured the image of the map she’d memorized. Left at the first junction, then the second right. All the way down the stairwell and then it was a just straight shot to solitary confinement.

She took the left and passed the first intersection. So far so good.

She reached the second and took a right. If Azula’s map was correct, there would be an open stairwell at the end of the narrow hallway.

There wasn’t.

Ty Lee stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around and looked back at the other hallway, making sure she’d counted right.

Then she heard footsteps. And they were getting louder.

Ty Lee cursed mentally. There was a single door on the left side of the hall. She only prayed it wasn’t locked.

Don’t think.

Just act.

When the door slid open to the small, unoccupied, and dimly lit room, Ty Lee thanked every single star whose name she could remember.

She closed the door as quietly as possible and pressed herself against it, listening closely.

The footsteps, which were accompanied by a light jingling, grew louder and louder, until they stopped, right outside the door.

Ty Lee held the door shut and prayed even harder.

The jingling footsteps retreated, and Ty Lee released her iron grip on the handle.

She took a deep breath, steadying her shaking hands.

When she opened her eyes, she came face to face with a familiar painting of pink flowers.

Water color, painted on a silk scroll, hung inconspicuously on the wall.

She had seen it in almost every room she’d been in at the facility. But not from _this_ side.

It was pretty. It was plain. And even in the low light, it was translucent.

 _He_ _’s been spying on us_ , Ty Lee thought, over and over again.

And from where she stood, the meeting room where they’d met with Azula during her first visit to the hospital was clearly visible.

 _“These walls may not have ears, but they’re not deaf,”_ Azula had said cryptically.

_Du Yi has been spying on us this whole time._

All Ty Lee could see was red. 

Without even thinking, she reached forward and tore down the scroll with one swift yank. She tossed it to the side and strode to the door, ready to continue her expedition.

Something was very wrong here, and Ty Lee was going to get to the bottom of it…Even if it had nothing to do with ghosts.

Ty Lee pressed her ear against the door, listening for the guards. Hearing nothing, she carefully slid the door open and re-entered the empty corridor. She had to find her way to solitary confinement…maybe Azula would have the answers she was looking for.

Who was Ty Lee kidding? She couldn’t think of a time Azula _didn_ _’t_ have the answers she was looking for. Well, except that one time, but——

“Y-you’re here!” a voice behind Ty Lee stammered.

Uh oh.

Ty Lee whirled around to see the crouching figure of that bearded weirdo who had been screaming about cabbages the other day. He was clutching a loop of keys in his hands and staring at her with eyes as big as…well, cabbages.

“Th-the signal!” the man continued, pointing at Ty Lee. “The signal!!!”

“W-wait!!” Ty Lee hissed out, but it was too late. The man went tearing down the hall in the opposite direction, howling maniacally.

Don’t think. Just act.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ty Lee flew after the cabbage man. If she caught him before the guards did, then maybe she could continue with her mission undetect—

She turned the corner into the main visitor’s room and came face to face with a gaggle of inmates, dressed in white and looking the opposite of crazed and disoriented.

_Click._

The manacles around one of the patients’ wrists fell to the floor with a clatter, and the Cabbage Man howled in delight, shaking his ring of keys triumphantly. The patient, a tall, muscular man with long dark hair, looked up at Ty Lee and grinned.

“GLORY TO OZAI AND THE FIRE NATION!!” the man cried as he punched outward. A ball of flame erupted from his fist, igniting the table in front of him.

“Oh, **_no_** ,” the words barely tumbled out of Ty Lee’s lips before drowning in an orchestra of blaring alarms and flashing lights, followed by a parade of sheer chaos that trumped the most raucous circus crowds.

For a moment, the whole world slowed. Ty Lee watched in horror as the cabbage man set to work on the other patients’ restraints, while the firebender set to work on the other tables in the room. She heard the panicked cries of guards, the sound of doors opening and slamming, and the stampeding footfalls of animals or tamers or both.

Three front handsprings, two light punches, and she could stop the firebender. One somersault, one high kick, and she could stop the cabbage man. One tablecloth and five aerials, and she could put out the fires.

Or, she could run and find Azula.

 _Don_ _’t think. Just act._

Ty Lee glanced at the wall next to her, spotting a large metal vent, the same kind of vents she’d seen on the bottom floors pumping cold air into the hallways. Without a second thought she pried the grate off the wall and shimmied inside, and was relieved to find that the entire ventilation system, though chilly, was large enough to accommodate her size. Which was odd, because Ty Lee knew that standard Fire Nation prison design standards dictated that no vent should be large enough for a child, much less an adult, to squeeze through.

Whoever designed this asylum was definitely not from the Fire Nation, and Ty Lee wasn’t sure whether or not she should thank her lucky stars for that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ty Lee dropped into the unoccupied hallway noiselessly. As she’d descended down to the very lowest levels of the facility, the cacophony of the madhouse riot seemed to fade away. But not even a full-blown stampede could have scared Ty Lee away now, not when she was so close to the truth.

And, yet again, there was only one person standing in her way.

“Azula?” Ty Lee asked as she slid open the small metal window to one cell. Empty.

“Azula?” This one was empty, too.

“Azula?” The light from the window illuminated a familiar figure, shoulders high and hands folded behind her back, facing away from Ty Lee. She could’ve been mistaken for a statue, were it not for the tapping of her finger and the light trembling of her hand.

“Ty Lee,” Azula said, her voice strangely forceful. She turned around, smirking, and a chill that had nothing to do with the cold air vents ran down Ty Lee’s spine. In the sudden light, her pupils constricted severely, making her look even more like a fiendish cat-owl than she normally did. “Right on time.”

 _Right on time?_ What the heck was _that_ supposed to mean? And what was she smiling about, anyway? There was a circus running around in the nuthouse just a few floors above them, yet here was Azula, as calm and collected as ever, acting as if she’d been _waiting_ for Ty Lee to show up. Had she actually been waiting for Ty Lee to show up? Was she just saying that to get under her nerves? Or was Ty Lee really that predictable?

 _Trap_ , Ty Lee thought bitterly. This was a trap. And she’d walked right into it, of course. She was no match for Azula when it came to wits. Stupid Ty Lee, falling for Azula’s tricks _again_. When was she going to learn?

No, Ty Lee assured herself firmly. This wasn’t her fault. It was _Azula_ _’s_. Stupid, mean, manipulative, Azula. She should’ve just listened to Mai and ignored Azula and stayed home and treated herself to a nice, warm, bath.

But she was here now, and if nothing else, she was going to get to the bottom of this.

 “Azula, _what_ is going on?!” Ty Lee demanded.

“Why, Ty Lee, don’t you know?” Azula asked, slinking towards the window and batting her stupid eyelashes, pretending to be surprised. Badly. Actually, it was pretty good but Ty Lee knew better. Or at least, she thought she did.  “You’ve spent so much time in the circus. You’d think you’d recognize a disappearing act when you saw one.”

 “Disappearing act? Wha—?” Ty Lee frowned. Another riddle? What could she possibly mean by a disappearing act? Was Azula trying to escape?? “Wait…you don’t mean—”

“Yes, Ty Lee,” Azula continued, smirking lightly. “For one night, and one night only, the Princess Azula will attempt a _death-defying_ escape from her underground tomb.”

Azula made a small, deliberate gesture with all the flair of a practiced showman, and Ty Lee could feel her eyes bug out of their own accord.

“With the help of her lovely assistant, of course,” Azula said with another predatory grin as she returned her hand behind her back.

Was Azula trying to escape…with Ty Lee’s help?

 “Whoa, whoa, _whoa_. Hold on just a second there, missy,” Ty Lee said firmly, waving both her palms in the air. “If you think I’m going to help you _escape_ …”

“Well, isn’t that why you’re here?” Azula asked, quirking one eyebrow elegantly. “Why _else_ would you come all the way out to _solitary confinement_ in the middle of the night?”

“Because you _told_ me to!” Ty Lee protested, reaching for the bottle and miniature map in her pocket. She stopped, suddenly realizing how utterly ridiculous that sounded. She imagined herself sitting in the circus, in a cage with a sign that read “World’s Prettiest Idiot”, right between the bearded lady and the world’s smallest camelephant.  

Stupid, gullible, _stupid_ Ty Lee.

“Oh… _oh_. I…I can’t believe—ugh, I’m such an _idiot_! _Why_ did I ever think it was a good idea to listen to _you_ , of all people…” Ty Lee muttered angrily, smacking herself in the forehead with her gloved hand. Maybe if she hit hard enough, she’d wake up back on Kyoshi Island, ready to start another boring day of checking freights and shipments…

 “Now, now, Ty Lee. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not _that_ much of an idiot if you managed to decipher my messages,” Azula offered in her most patronizing voice, which always meant she was going to follow up with something even more horrible.  “But you _are_ an idiot if you haven’t figured at least _some_ things out by now.”

Ty Lee felt her blood rising to the tips of her ears. She’d been insulted, manipulated, and forced into a kiss more times in the past three days than she had in the whole two years on Kyoshi. And to top it all off, even though she had been here to _help_ Azula, all Azula could do was insult her.

She could have left. She could have left at any point up until now, leaving a giant, Ty Lee-shaped hole in Azula’s brilliant master plan, whatever the heck that even was. That would teach Azula not to underestimate Ty Lee…unless Azula was anticipating that, too. And then Azula would just lean back and smile that little smile, with that gleam in her eyes that practically screamed, “All according to plan…”

She should just leave.

But then she would be leaving Azula here. Alone. With the doctor. Who may or may not have been spying on them, because ghosts certainly didn’t need secret viewing rooms hidden behind giant wall scrolls.

Ty Lee eyed Azula for a moment. Despite the grin fixed on her face, and her even stance, proud shoulders, and folded hands…Ty Lee could tell.

Azula was trembling, ever so slightly, from head to toe, and Ty Lee’s trained eyes could tell she was exerting an unusual amount of effort to appear as if she wasn’t. She might have even heard the trembling in her voice, were she not speaking each syllable so forcefully.

Ty Lee closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

If she stayed, she would just be another pawn in another one of Azula’s schemes. She wouldn’t put it past her to tremble disturbingly just to appeal to Ty Lee’s sympathy. But if she left, she could be leaving a troubled Azula in the hands of Du Yi.

Between the two of them, Ty Lee wasn’t sure which one she trusted less, and she certainly wasn’t sure which one of them was less evil.

But at least she knew one of them better than the other.

What was that thing that Sokka had said to Suki that one time about Ty Lee? Better the anvil you know than the anvil you don’t?

Well, Ty Lee didn’t know anything about anvils, but she did know a thing or two about Azula.

Azula would never let herself appear weak. Not like this.

Ty Lee opened her eyes and met Azula’s slightly unsteady gaze with her own.

She needed her. Azula needed her. Azula _needed_ Ty Lee to be here. She needed her help, otherwise she wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of getting her here. And if Ty Lee was going to help (which she was because if Azula needed help then it was a very serious situation indeed), she was going to do it on her own terms, not Azula’s.

“Before I can consider helping you, you need to answer my questions.”

Azula’s arched brow twitched ever so slightly.  “Did I say I needed your help?”

Ty Lee smiled. Azula was a magician; flashy tricks and masterful manipulation. And, like any magician, she _hated_ it whenever anyone saw through her to the truth.

And if anyone knew about magicians and Azula, it was Ty Lee.

“You didn’t have to,” Ty Lee said smugly. She had managed, for once, to gain the upper hand on Azula. “Your messages did it for you.”

Azula smiled back a smile that didn’t reach quite her eyes, but Ty Lee didn’t falter. It was just another smokescreen.

“Fair enough. I’ll answer your questions…” Azula said, casually glancing at her trim and tidy nails. Another trick, meant to make Ty Lee think Azula cared less about what she was saying than she actually did. “…In due time. We have company.”

Ty Lee nearly jumped at the sound of footsteps coming from the stairwell. She searched quickly for an easy escape, but the cell was inconveniently located next to the bizarrely long dead-end hallway. Without thinking, she looked back at Azula, who always had a plan for everything, and surely wouldn’t allow Ty Lee to come all the way here just to be caught by some guards, right?

…Stupid, stupid Ty Lee.

“An ally,” Azula said calmly, a small glint of amusement dancing in her eyes. Ty Lee allowed herself to breathe again, momentarily forgetting how annoyed she was supposed to be.

A girl, one that Ty Lee recognized from one of her earlier visits, appeared from the stairwell, holding a jangling loop of keys triumphantly in her hands. She made her way down the corridor briskly and, completely ignoring Ty Lee, opened the door to Azula’s cell and entered without a moment’s hesitation.

Ty Lee suddenly felt quite annoyed.

“Status report,” Azula said easily; naturally. She sounded almost bored, as if demanding one to challenge her disaffectedness with good news, and Ty Lee, even though she was not the one addressed, felt compelled to oblige. Not even Suki had that kind of ease with leadership.

The girl, who stood at attention with perfect posture, nodded obediently and began rapping her knuckles erratically on the metal door.

She’d heard those rhythms before.

Tap, tap, tap…

Twitching fingers. Tapping toes. A secret code. All under her nose.

It wasn’t until Ty Lee felt her nails digging into her palms that she realized how angry she was.

“Excellent,” Azula said, and Min beamed. If it weren’t for the sharp pains in her hands, Ty Lee could have sworn she was having an out-of-body experience and watching a younger version of herself.

The commander and the lieutenant, working in tandem. One eager to lead, the other eager to please.

Ty Lee had never been picked last for a team before, but Ky Lee had often complained about it on the playground. She imagined this would be what it felt like.

No wonder Ky Lee was so mopey all the time.

“Did you bring it?” Azula asked, in an oddly soothing voice. The quiet girl nodded again and eagerly presented Azula with what looked like a small, silver knife. 

A deep smile spread itself over Azula’s lips, even before she took the knife with lightly quivering fingers, and Ty Lee suddenly found herself keenly aware of how pretty the quiet girl was.

Not prettier than Ty Lee, of course, but still…not bad for an insane inmate. Especially since not many people around here were particularly well-groomed or sane, and this girl was probably the closest to Azula and Ty Lee in terms of age…heck, with a little makeup and a better hairstyle than “fresh out of the loony bin”, she could be _quite_ attractive.

But…not more attractive than Ty Lee…right?

Wait, why did she even care about Azula and her brand new not-that-pretty and actually kind of plain sidekick? And if Azula had a sidekick with a secret language (which, by the way, she _never_ took the time to develop with Ty Lee, even though Ty Lee had tried so many times to invent a top secret code just for the two of them to use to communicate in front of Mai and Zuko so it wasn’t as if she didn’t _try_ ) all this time, what was Ty Lee even doing here in the first place? Was this all some sort of sick, twisted joke, and Ty Lee was the punchline??

 “…Will someone _PLEASE_ tell me what is going on??” Ty Lee spat, stomping one foot into the ground and slamming both hands onto her hips.

Oh, yeah, they definitely had to take her seriously now.

“Oh, how rude of me. Ty Lee, this is Min. Min, Ty Lee. I’d have introduced the two of you sooner, but being in here tends to dull one’s common courtesy,” Azula said dismissively, not even bothering to look up from the dagger in her hands.

The girl – Min – turned to Ty Lee and smiled before bowing deeply. She seemed…nice. And courteous. Pleasant, even?

It only made Ty Lee dislike her _more_. Which in turn made Ty Lee feel guilty for disliking her. Which made Ty Lee angry for being made to feel guilty by such a nice, courteous, average-looking girl!

Well at least Ty Lee was _sane_ …or at least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

 “See? Less than an hour and you’ve already lost all your manners,” Azula quipped, snapping Ty Lee out of her thoughts long enough to shoot a glare, which went unnoticed by its recipient, who seemed to be listening to the air intently. “I’d let you two get acquainted, but we’re about to be discovered.”

Ty Lee nearly leapt at the sound of heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway. Without thinking, she turned to Azula, who still managed to look smug despite her current situation.

“Close the window and conceal yourselves in here, quickly. Stay still and they won’t see you in the darkness,” Azula instructed as if it were the most obvious solution in the world.

Ty Lee glanced around the padded room. Even with the door open, she couldn’t see where the walls stood in the darkest corners, so the plan _could_ work. But with no windows or vents, the only way out was through the front door. And if she got locked in here with the likes of Azula and her shiny new best friend…well, she didn’t want to imagine what _those_ conversations would be like.

They’d probably just exclude her and talk about her in their super-secret language.

On the other hand, if she left right now, she’d be abandoning Azula and Min with the doctor, and her dislike of him somehow managed to outweigh her dislike of both Min and Azula combined.

Even though he’d never actually done anything to spite her, unlike Azula. And there was no concrete proof that he was potentially evil, unlike Azula. And he’d never manipulated her or toyed with her feelings in any way, unlike Azula.

…Why was she even here again?

The footsteps grew louder. There was no time to think. She had to act.

Ty Lee quickly slid the latch closed and shut the door, plunging the room into total darkness. A hand wrapped itself around her upper arm and pulled her into the corner of the room, where she collided with the soft padding. She could feel someone next to her, breathing lightly, and far too close for comfort. But all she could do was stand silently and sightlessly, counting the seconds, feeling her heart hammer away nervously in her chest.

She wondered if this is what Azula had done all day.

…If Azula even had a heart to begin with. Most days, it seemed like she didn’t. But there were those times…those few precious times that only Ty Lee had ever seen—

The door flung open, illuminating Azula, who had been sitting on the floor in a meditative pose. She glanced over her shoulder casually.

“Is my time in solitary over already?” Azula asked innocently. She could teach a master class in acting, Ty Lee was sure of it.

Ty Lee had seen countless professional liars in her lifetime, from politicians to actors to conmen to magicians, but Azula could outperform them all.

The two earthbender guards grabbed Azula, yanking her to her feet and forcing her to face Du Yi, who looked almost nothing like the doctor Ty Lee knew. He was breathing hard, his normally impeccable uniform was disheveled, and there was a redness in his cheeks and quaking eyes that made him look more like a moosebull about to stampede than the squeaky-clean doctor she had become acquainted with.

 “ _What did you do_?” he hissed, his face mere inches away from Azula’s. His voice was low and dangerous; completely lacking in all his normal high-pitched cordiality.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific,” Azula smiled, and Ty Lee watched Du Yi take a deep, trembling breath.

“Hama is dead. And I _know_ it was you.”

Ty Lee should have never left the circus.

 

 


End file.
